Harry and John Potter: Year 3
by HellIsHere
Summary: Dementors roam the grounds of Hogwarts, a killer is on the loose, hell-bent on getting to Harry, a werewolf teaches classes, and yet this somehow ends up being Harry and John's closest to a normal year at Hogwarts. How that's possible was beyond them. Best read after year 1 and 2, also on my profile. T for language.
1. Privet Drive woes

**Yes, I am a massive fan of Jurassic Park... it did come out in summer 1993, so why not implement it here?**

* * *

Harry Potter was without a doubt, one of the strangest people anyone would come across in Surrey. He loved going to school, desperately wanted to do his homework, and of course, was a wizard. The same went for his larger twin brother, John, and his cousin, a muggleborn witch Delilah.

The summer had definitely changed the three of them thus far. Harry and John's faces had lost their childlike roundness, and started to look more adult-like. Harry had grown slightly, but was still somewhat short and skinny. Delilah had shot up in height and was now as tall as Harry, whilst her body was starting to blossom into that of a woman's. John had grown in height a moderate amount; he was approximately as tall as his best friend Ron was six months ago, but had become significantly more muscular, something which he noted to himself coming out of the shower one evening.

He honestly hadn't noticed it. He was always naturally strong, but now it was starting to physically show, causing John to smile. The smile was wiped off his face when he looked more intensely into the mirror, and examined the scars on his chest. There were corresponding ones on his back. At the end of his last academic year, he, his brother and Ron faced off against a basilisk, one of the most dangerous animals in the world.

The basilisk killed John, seizing him in its jaws and crushing his chest. Fortunately for him, he had a fragment of the soul of Lord Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard of all time and the murderer of his parents latched on to his own, and was allowed to come back to life. Most of the puncture marks had instantaneously vanished upon his resurrection (the ones that were deep enough to have killed him).

But what remained were four very prominent scars on his chest and four more on his back. They looked like the remnants of knife stab wounds, but Harry, Delilah and John himself of course knew better (as did a select few others including their best friends, Hermione and Ron, alongside Ron's parents, their headmaster and hosuemaster, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall).

John looked solemnly at his scars once more. They kept reminding him that, contrary to the way he behaved, he was not invincible. Not even close. Pain was no stranger to him or his brother, but this was something different. John had experienced mortality first hand, and while he was trying his best not to let it change him, a small part of him would never be able to forget what happened to him. He would never be the same.

The only silver lining was that, for a short time, he was able to see his parents again. But only for a short time. Even this silver lining was marred by the fact that John now knew what he was missing out on, making his status as an orphan all the more painful - Lily and James Potter were wonderful people, and he'd never see them again.

And finally, for as long as his second life may be, John would never forget the looks on the faces of Harry, Ron, Delilah or Hermione when he returned. He could only imagine what they felt when they saw his corpse.

Shaking those very sobering thoughts out of his head, he headed off to do his paper rounds.

Thirteen year old paperboys in Privet Drive were not commonly seen; the families living there were well off, and the children got all the pocket money they wanted. All of the families bar one. The Dursley family, caretakers of the Potter twins simply disallowed said twins from having any pocket money, and the same went for their daughter, due to their hatred of all things magic.

Hence, John took up the job of delivering newspapers door to door in order to earn some muggle money. He used Dudley's top of the line bicycle to do so, as Dudley never used it, and Vernon and Petunia Dursley couldn't care less what John did in his free time. In fact, given that John spent his mornings delivering papers, they were happy that it kept him out of their hair for a while every morning.

However, one paper in particular sparked a discussion. The paper in question had Sirius Black on the front page headline.

"You can tell he's just the wrong sort. Look how filthy he is." said Uncle Vernon upon looking at Black in the picture. Indeed, his hair was overgrown, stringy and unwashed, his beard shaggy and unkempt, his eyes looking wild, and his cheekbones gaunt.

But Harry, Delilah and John knew better than to think him just some escaped convict. He was Sirius Black, a notorious criminal, a murderer, one of the most wanted men in Britain, if not the most wanted, and one of Lord Voldemort's right hand men, according to anyone who knew anything about him.

"He's been sighted in Dufftown. That's not far from Hogwarts. If our last two years of luck are anything to go by, I don't think that's a coincidence." said John, quietly, leading the other two out of the living room.

"He won't get into Hogwarts though. Like Hermione says, there are all sorts of protective spells and enchantments around the castle grounds, as well as in the castle itself. In any case, I don't think one of Voldemort's followers has any reason to be at a school. He should be looking for ways for him to return to power, and with the diary and the stone destroyed..." Harry said, referring to how they themselves snuffed out two of Voldemort's chances to return.

"In all honesty, the chances are he's in Scotland to stay away from London, where there are more people who'd recognize him." said Delilah.

"Actually that makes the most sense. Shall we just stop worrying about him? I mean there are a lot of murderers running around, and I'd wager Lucius Malfoy is one of them, but he's just hiding it well." said John.

"Yeah, sounds about right." said Harry.

"So let's just ignore all that. You know, Jurassic park is finally out, right?" John asked, a gleeful smile appearing on his face.

"Yeah, but do you even have enough money yet?" Delilah asked.

"Yeah I do. We should head out and watch it. Hell let's just do it now." said John.

"Mum and dad won't be happy." said Delilah, looking towards the living room.

"Doesn't matter. What can they do now? I'm basically the size of your dad minus the six tonnes of fat." said John, bluntly, causing both Harry and Delilah to laugh.

"That's terrible!" said Delilah through her laughs.

"The truth often is." said John, feigning a mournful voice.

"So are we agreed on watching this movie?" John asked.

"Depends. Do you have enough money to pay for it?" Delilah asked.

"Yeah, I've got about a hundred pounds saved up." said John.

"Oh what the hell. Let's do it!" said Harry.

While the rest of the Dursley family was occupied by the paper and the television, Harry, John and Delilah snuck out of the house, ready to walk into town to watch what was being billed up to be one of the greatest movies ever made. Certainly one with one of the biggest and furthest reaching marketing campaign, and with a masterful director behind it.

* * *

All three of the youngsters came out of the cinema later that evening in shock over the excellence that was Jurassic park.

"I've never seen anything like that." said Harry.

"I could have sworn, every single dinosaur in that was real!" said John.

"Never a dull moment either! You have a scene with a T-rex throwing raptors around, and you have a bloody dinner scene and they're all amazing!"said Delilah.

"I don't think I'll be able to stop thinking about that mov-" John started, before noticing a pair of rather attractive girls around their age.

"Thus ends the age of John's Jurassic park obsession. How long did it last?" Delilah asked.

"Twenty seconds." said Harry, dryly.

They both turned to John, who was already flirting with the two girls, standing in a way that showed off the physique he'd been gradually building.

"Oh for goodness sake. I'll get him." said Delilah, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, I just decided to treat my brother and cousin to watch this movie, Jurassic Park which you've probably heard of." said John. The girls he was talking to obviously liked the generosity, but Delilah grabbed his ear before he could continue, and began to drag him away.

"Ow! Delilah, what the hell!" said John.

"We've got to get home John!" she said, sternly.

John looked to the two girls apologetically as Delilah dragged him away. Both of the girls found it hilarious.

"Thanks for that." said John sarcastically.

"My dad's going to be angry enough as it is, we might as well be home before ten! You thinking with the contents of your underwear isn't helping." said Delilah, bluntly.

"If you say so." said John, rolling his eyes.

"Cheer up John. Hermione and Ron are sending their birthday gifts!" said Harry bracingly.

"Fair enough." John mumbled.

* * *

Upon reaching number 4, Privet Drive, the three youngsters did not receive the berating that they expected. They were just ignored, but that worked more in their favor. Being allowed to be left to their own devices was preferable to random scoldings throughout every day. Especially considering the sheer number of chores that they would do if Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia spotted them not working on another chore already.

However, they should have known it was too good to be true.

Uncle Vernon dropped the worst news he could have dropped.

His sister, their Aunt Marge was coming to visit for a while.

"Wait... she's not coming here is she?" Harry asked, slightly panicked.

"Yes she is. And you'll have to be on your best behaviour. All of you." said Uncle Vernon sternly.

Aunt Marge had in essence, conformed with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's views of Harry and John, and even Delilah. What made her particularly unbearable was that she was even more callous and outright cruel about it. She allowed one of her largest dogs to chase Harry up a tree and have him trapped up there for an hour. She used John to test the speed of some of the dogs she was breeding. Needless to say, the dogs were much faster than a nine year old boy, thus explaining the large scar on John's left arm. She also frequently belittled Delilah's because of her looks, telling her she was too skinny and similar comments.

Ironically, Delilah was easily the best looking person in the entire Dursley family. Not that that was something to be particularly proud of, but Delilah was already growing into a beautiful young woman.

John decided to use Aunt Marge's visit as a bargaining tool.

"Alright. I'll behave. On one condition. You sign our forms." said John.

Earlier in the summer, the first batch of information from Hogwarts included some permission forms for students to visit Hogsmeade village on certain weekends, just to relax and do as they pleased. Harry, John and Delilah didn't expect to get the forms signed, but now John had a bargaining tool.

"I'm not signing those ruddy forms!" said Uncle Vernon, stubbornly.

"Well if that's the case... I might have to show Aunt Marge what we can do." said John.

"You're not allowed to use magic outside school." replied Uncle Vernon smugly, thinking he had John in the proverbial corner.

"I don't need my wand. All I need is my broomstick. The ministry can't track those and it's totally legal." said John, smirking.

The vein on Uncle Vernon's forehead became very prominent as he struggled not to lose his temper. He immediately knew that he had lost.

"And of course there are enough ingredients in the garden for me to brew a potion which could have Aunt Marge shrinking forever. All it would take is one drop in her wine..." Delilah threatened. This was of course a bluff, not that the other Dursleys knew any better.

"And how could we forget? We deliver our post by owl! I mean Delilah has her cat which is normal, but what if Aunt Marge were to see Hedwig flying through the window with a letter from Ron or Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Alright, alright! I'll sign the forms if you behave!" said Uncle Vernon, giving in.

"Thanks dad." said Delilah brightly, knowing full well that she was getting under his skin.

The three of them headed upstairs and chose to spend the rest of the evening in Delilah's room.

"Delilah, that was vicious! I didn't know you had it in you!" said Harry.

"I hang out with John too much. Absolutely tragic, isn't it Garfield?" said Delilah, stroking her cat.

"Hanging out with me was always a bad idea, I mean, look at you! You have a personality! Disgraceful!" John shot back, grinning.

"I guess I still have some learning to do before I can out-banter you." said Delilah.

"A lot of learning." said John.

Delilah stuck her tongue out at John.

"When did I become the mature one?" Harry asked.

"When you fell asleep and started dreaming." said Delilah.

"Apply cold water to burned area." John said to Harry, who simply rolled his eyes.

Before Harry could retort, Delilah pointed at four owls outside her window. One belonged to John, another to Harry (Achilles and Hedwig), whilst the other two belonged to the Weasleys and Hogwarts respectively.

The owls had a multitude of packages tied to them.

Most of the packages were birthday presents (they had recently turned thirteen) including a broomstick servicing kit from Hermione, pocket sneakoscopes from Ron and two books from the Hogwarts owl (Hagrid had sent the books).

After reading about how Ron's holiday in Egypt was going (and laughing at the image of Fred and George putting beetles in Bill's stew), they read Hermione's characteristically very long, neatly written letter about how she wished she were in Egypt, learning about the 'fascinating' ancient Egyptian wizards. Ron's account was conflicting with what Hermione said - some of the curses the ancient Egyptian wizards put on the tombs were not fascinating. They were simply downright frightening.

Eventually, they got onto Hagrid's presents.

John picked up his book from Hagrid, but he felt it moving. Harry and Delilah saw that.

"Err..." said John.

Hagrid wouldn't send anything dangerous to them on purpose but his idea of dangerous was nowhere near normal, having befriended giant spiders and bought fifteen foot three headed dogs from men in pubs.

"Open it. I mean, we might as well find out." said Harry, eyeing his own book carefully.

John tore open the parcel, to see a book with jaws. Upon being freed from the wrappings, it snapped aggressively at John.

"What the-" said John, before forcing the book shut. This required both of his arms. The book struggled against him. For something so (relatively) small, it was extremely strong.

"Get a belt, sellotape, something!" John said, urgently.

Delilah rushed to her drawer and pulled out some sellotape. Harry and John held the book down, and Delilah wrapped the tape around the book, repeating the process for Harry's.

"What the hell? Why do we need these?" Harry asked.

John read Hagrid's note, which simply said that they would definitely need those books this coming year.

"But why?" Delilah asked.

"Who knows? Hagrid's idea of... well anything dangerous doesn't make sense." said John.

"What else from the Hogwarts owl?" Delilah asked.

"Oh, our booklists, and what do you know? Whoever our care of magical creatures professor is decided to assign these things." said John, holding the booklists up for Harry and Delilah to see.

* * *

Meetings between Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge were often based around Fudge asking Dumbledore for help running the magical side of Britain, given Dumbledore's status and Fudge's lack of competence. However, this time, Fudge was meeting him to inform Dumbledore of a less than savory policy the ministry was now being forced to implement.

They were stationing dementors, the vicious and terrifying guards of Azkaban around Hogwarts.

"I'm sorry Albus, but this is out of my hands. The Wizengamot was adamant, and you already knew as much. With Black having been sighted in Dufftown, it simply isn't worth the risk." said Fudge.

Dumbledore sighed.

"Very well. But if you do this, you will have to allow me to hire Remus as opposed to appointing someone of your own." said Dumbledore.

"The werewolf? Don't you think it hypocritical? Being opposed to having dementors stationed at Hogwarts for fear of the students' collective safety, and yet in the same breath, hiring a known werewolf?" Fudge asked.

"He is not a monster. He is a good-natured and intelligent man, with skills that should be put to use in education." said Dumbledore.

"I don't doubt that. Once a month, however, he loses all of his humanity, and that is unavoidable." said Fudge.

"You forget, Cornelius. We do have a potions master in the castle. Severus does know how to brew the wolfsbane potion." said Dumbledore.

"I don't know Albus... we both know how violent werewolves are towards humans." said Fudge.

"I allowed Remus to be educated here before the wolfsbane potion was even invented. No one was hurt. With wolfsbane potion at our disposal? Why not allow him to become a productive member of society? Why shun him when the means to keep him human are within our grasp?" Dumbledore asked.

Echoing Dumbledore's sentiments regarding the dementors, after almost a minute of awkward silence, Fudge responded.

"Very well. But Professor Snape had better start brewing wolfsbane immediately." said Fudge.

"He will. Starting tonight. I will see to it myself." said Dumbledore.

With that, Fudge gave Dumbledore a curt nod, and stepped into his fireplace, flooing back to his office at the ministry.

Dumbledore headed to Snape's office to inform him of the arrangement.

"Severus, I have chosen our next defence against the dark arts professor. It will be Remus Lupin." said Dumbledore.

Snape whipped his head towards Dumbledore. He did not look happy.

"After what he almost did to me?" Snape asked, fiercely.

"He was not in his right mind, and you know it." Dumbledore said, flatly.

"Precisely. You think it prudent to hire someone with his... condition?" asked Snape.

"I am speaking to a potions master." said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.

"No... you can't mean it." Snape said, weakly.

"I do. You cannot deny his pedigree for the subject. Moreover, he deserves to have employment. You may have had your differences, but it is not his fault that he cannot find work. He didn't ask to be a werewolf, and in any case, do you think it fair that a fully qualified wizard with a talent for a particular subject should remain without work?" Dumbledore said.

Clearly Dumbledore's own pedigree for making strong arguments shone through.

"Very well. I'll make some wolfsbane whenever time permits." said Snape.

"Thank you Severus. You will help me keep an eye on Harry this year, won't you?" asked Dumbledore, referring to Sirius Black having been sighted somewhat close to Hogwarts.

"Two eyes. And if Black gets anywhere near here, I certainly wouldn't begrudge the dementors for doing their jobs." Snape said, angrily.

For once, Dumbledore had to agree with Snape's more vicious sentiments.

* * *

The next day, for Harry, Delilah and John was spent preparing for Aunt Marge's visit. They were cooking, cleaning, listening to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia list off the things they could or couldn't do in her presence, and of course, they were encouraged to spend as much time out of the house as possible.

Not that they were complaining about that.

However, when she actually arrived, they were struck by how they'd forgotten how much of an unpleasant character she was, both inside and out.

She was almost as beefy as her brother, and even had something of a moustache of her own.

"You two are still here then." was her greeting to Harry and John.

"Yes." Harry said, emotionlessly.

"Don't say 'yes' in that ungrateful tone. It was damn good of my brother to keep you. You'd have been straight to an orphanage if you'd have been dumped on my doorstep." she said.

Harry wanted to say that he'd have preferred an orphanage, but the Hogsmeade forms stopped him, as did the fact that he and John had formed an extremely strong bond with Delilah since the infamous roundabout incident.

"Oh, is that my Dudders, is that my little neffy-poo?" said Aunt Marge, before gushing over Dudley who was as much an angel in her eyes as Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.

"Take her suitcases upstairs." said Uncle Vernon, trying to remove Harry, Delilah and John from the equation, and by extension, the tension in the room.

After they had done so, Delilah started to look visibly upset. There were tears in her eyes.

"Woah, Delilah, what's wrong?" John asked.

"I... I just can't take this any more! They're my parents! I've been relegated to a grunt, moving suitcases, cooking and cleaning! And you're their nephews!" she said, choking back tears throughout her short monologue.

Harry and John looked at each other uncomfortably.

The pair of them often joked about the rest of the Dursley family, since they had never got along, but for Delilah, it was different. She was once treated as a true daughter by them; for her the treatment she currently received was perceived as far worse. Aunt Marge's visit was likely the straw that broke the camel's back. Yet another family member who had stopped treating her like family.

John pulled Delilah into a hug and allowed her to silently sob into his shoulder, and both he and Harry rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.

"I know I must sound so selfish, you two have been treated like this all your lives!" Delilah said, her sobbing voice muffled by John's shoulder.

"No, you're totally justified. For us it's nothing big, but you still remember being treated like a daughter." said Harry.

"It's absolute crap, plain and simple. You know when Aunt Marge is gone and we get those forms signed, I'm giving them a piece of my mind." said John, flatly.

"You'll hear no arguments from me." said Harry.

"I... I don't know, part of me thinks we could rekindle our relationship, so... could you just...not?" asked Delilah, knowing that she would receive an equal amount of displeasure if John did something.

"Even if you could, they don't deserve it. They treat you like crap just because you're a witch, something you never had any say in. I know you wouldn't want to stop being a witch given the choice, but your parents should support you either way." said John.

"When did you get so mature?" Delilah asked.

"I didn't. I'm just not as insensitive as I let on." said John, smiling at her.

"I don't know what I'd do without you two." said Delilah, hugging them both.

"The same goes to you, you do realise that, right?" Harry replied.

"Between you and Hermione, I didn't do any of my own homework before you got petrified last year." said John.

Delilah was now a walking mixture of laughter and sobs.

"Someone had to make sure you passed the year." Delilah said through her tears.


	2. The Greatest Alley in London

Aunt Marge's visit for the most part (save for Delilah's breakdown on the first day) went as expected. Snide remarks were made here and there, Harry, Delilah and John spent their time almost exclusively out of the house, and when they were in the house, mostly kept their mouths shut with the Hogsmeade forms in mind.

Still, it was proving to be extremely difficult, especially for Harry and John, as Aunt Marge decided to bring James and Lily Potter into the equation on her last night at number 4, during dinner.

"You mustn't blame yourself for how these two turned out, it's all to do with blood, bad blood will out." said Aunt Marge, sagely.

The sheer nerve of her made John want to throw Marge's plate into her face - insulting them and their parent so brazenly in front of them, yet acting as if they weren't there.

"What is it the boy's father did Petunia?" she asked.

"Nothing, he didn't work, he was unemployed." said Aunt Petunia.

Harry and John could neither verify nor contest that statement. It annoyed them, but with no legs to stand on, they stayed quiet.

"And a drunk too, no doubt?" Aunt Marge scoffed.

"That's a lie." Harry said, flatly.

"What did you say?" Aunt Marge asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"My dad wasn't a drunk." Harry said, raising his voice slightly. The Hogsmeade forms were forgotten.

"And what would you know about that? You were a baby when his drunken state got him killed, along with your mother, who was probably joining him for a drink-driving session!" said Aunt Marge.

"You're such a hypocrite, accusing us of saying stuff we don't know shit about, and yet here you are, you're making projections about our mum and dad. You never met them. Lucky them." said John.

"You have some nerve, boy. Where did you send them again, Vernon?" Aunt Marge asked.

"St. Brutus' centre for incurably criminal boys. It's all I could do for hopeless cases." said Uncle Vernon, looking pointedly at Harry and John, both of whom tried to calm down.

"And do they use a cain there boy?" Aunt Marge asked.

John looked to Uncle Vernon, who subtly nodded.

"Oh, yeah. I've been beaten loads of times." said John.

"Excellent. I won't have this namby pamby, wishy washy nonsense about not hitting people who deserve it. Though if you're able to talk about it like that, maybe they're not hitting you hard enough." Aunt Marge mused.

"You should take it up with them. John can't control how hard he gets hit." Delilah said, sarcastically.

"You keep your mouth quiet." Aunt Marge snapped.

Delilah rolled her eyes, but decided to comply with the demand.

"You know, I'm noticing a parallel with my dogs here. It might not be the father after all. I had to have an unruly dog put down, and I did the same with its mother. If there's something wrong with the bitch, then there's something wrong with the pup." said Aunt Marge.

Dudley looked around stupidly, not having any idea what was going on. Delilah was trying her best to suppress her rage; she hated anyone talking about her beloved cousins like that, but Harry and John were now beyond reason. They were definitely going to do something.

John stood up, and for a moment, Uncle Vernon was worried that he was going to hit Aunt Marge, but thankfully, he just took his plate to the sink. But he wasn't done.

He came back and picked up Aunt Marge's plate while she was looking at Uncle Vernon and explaining the 'dynamics of bitches and pups'. Without warning, he dropped all the food left on the plate onto Aunt Marge's head, causing her to yelp in surprise.

"Something wrong with the bitch, something wrong with the pup, eh? Certainly explains you, you fat shit." said John, bluntly.

"How dare you!" Aunt Marge said.

"What are you going to do? Go on, tell me. You going to hit me? Because I'll hit back, and you won't like that. Not one bit." John threatened.

"You've just proven my point. Your parents were pathetic, drunken fools. They went and had you and your brother and you'll turn out the same! You'll drink yourselves to death before you're twenty-five and join them in hell!" Aunt Marge roared.

She was ready to go on another tirade, pointing a fat finger at John, but something was wrong with the finger. It was already fat, but it was growing... as if it was inflating itself. The inflation didn't stop there. Her whole body started to swell up. She wasn't swelling up with anger - she wasn't angry any more, she was baffled.

Not only that, but she was now starting to float about a foot off the ground.

"Vernon! Vernon do something!" she cried desperately.

Uncle Vernon stood up, but Aunt Marge's vicious dog, ripper ran at him and bit into his leg, causing him to scream out in pain.

Whilst all this was happening, Aunt Petunia and Dudley watched in horror as Aunt Marge began to float out of the dining room, and into the garden.

Delilah knew exactly what was going on - clearly Harry or John (or both of them) had lost control of their emotions and it was manifesting itself in magic, causing Aunt Marge to be blown up like a balloon.

She was know floating at least five feet off the ground of the garden. Uncle Vernon managed to wrestle Ripper off his leg, and ran out into the garden, trying to grab onto her. But by now, she was out of his reach. She was floating level with some of the bedrooms upstairs, screaming all the way.

John nudged Delilah.

"We're getting out of here. Get your stuff." he muttered.

Delilah was not going to argue - this summer was an absolute nightmare thus far.

She, John and Harry ran upstairs to get their spellbooks, owls and cat, before John kicked the door to the cupboard under the stairs open to grab what was left of their wizarding equipment. Before the three of them could rush out of the door, Uncle Vernon stopped them.

"You get her down! Now! Put her right!" he roared.

"Fuck off! I'm done with this shit! She deserved what she got, and if you don't want the same happening to you, you'll back the fuck up!" John roared, before shoving uncle Vernon so hard that he stumbled backwards and knocked over Aunt Petunia like a bowling ball hitting a pin.

"I refuse to call you my parents! I'm not perfect but I deserve better than you!" Delilah screamed furiously, before the three of them walked out of the door.

They got as far as Magnolia crescent before they realized what they just did. Underaged magic. Ran away from home. The ministry would be onto them soon.

"What did we just do?" John sighed.

Delilah looked down, silently.

"Fuck... I say we use our broomsticks, bewitch our trunks to be feather light and tie them to the broomsticks, get our money in Gringotts and work out what to do from there." said Harry.

It was a grim and rather extreme measure, but at this point, it looked to be their only option.

"Delilah, you don't have to join us, you didn't actually use any magic." said John.

"I'm not going back there though." she said, flatly.

Harry and John nodded. The began to think about what all the people they cared about would think. They might never see Hermione or the Weasleys ever again. They would definitely never see Hogwarts again. Hogwarts, Hagrid, Dumbledore, McGonagall, hell even Snape or Malfoy would be a welcome sight to them.

"You could head to the Weasleys. No use in you joining a couple of wanted men." said Harry.

Delilah started to consider it, before something interrupted her.

They didn't have much more time to think at all. They heard something rustling in some nearby bushes.

Looking over at the bushes in question, they saw some shadowy, animalistic figure hiding in them. All three of the adolescents instinctively pulled out their wands and pointed them at the bushes.

The figure walked out from behind the bushes. It was a black dog... but it was at least the size of a lion! It looked at them, as if in a calculating manner, but before it struck, they heard the beeping of a bus' horn. Why would a bus be running so late? They looked to the bus to see that it was the oddest one they'd ever seen.

It was a purple, triple decker bus. The words "Knight Bus" were on the side. It was safe to say that this was a wizard's bus.

From the back entrance of the bus, a man who couldn't have been more than twenty appeared. He was tall, thin, had a purple uniform matching the purple of the bus and a badge to go with it.

"Welcome to the Knight bus. Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Stick out your wand arm and the Knight bus will serve. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor for this evening." said the man, revealed to be Stan, in a professional manner.

"Blimey! Harry Potter! Din' chu two stop those attacks a few munfs ago? Along with that Weasley lad?" Stan asked, losing his professional tone.

"Err... yeah." said Harry. Clearly word of their underage magic hadn't got out far enough yet.

"Brilliant! So, come in, and we'll take you wherever you need to go. As long as it's on land. Can't do nuffink underwater." said Stan.

The three teens awkwardly walked onto the bus, dragging their trunks in with them.

The inside of the bus was unlike any other form of public transport. Instead of a set of seats on each deck, the bus was filled with beds and a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Some wizards were sat on their beds chatting animatedly, like late night conversations at Hogwarts dorms, whilst others were just fast asleep. Harry, John and Delilah all had absolutely no idea what to say about the layout.

"Err, how much to get to the leaky cauldron?" John asked.

"Eleven sickles. But for firteen you got 'ot chocolate and for fiften an 'ot water bottle and a toofbrush wiv the colour of your choice." said Stan.

John opened up his trunk grabbed his money bag, giving Stan two galleons and five sickles, amounting to enough for three hot chocolates and rides to the leaky cauldron.

"Fank you. Take 'er away Ernie!" said Stan, talking to the driver, who was an elderly wizard with very large glasses that magnified his probably barely functioning eyes.

"Yeah, take it away Ernie! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" came another voice, with a pronounced Jamaican accent. Harry looked to the driver's seat and saw a shrunken head making telling Ernie to get the bus moving. What was going on? Buses that could seemingly teleport, with beds instead of seats and shrunken heads giving directions? The wizarding world was weird and quirky but this... This was on a whole new level.

"Am I dreaming?" John muttered to Delilah.

"I... I don't know." Delilah responded.

With a loud bang, the bus suddenly started moving, at a breakneck pace. Ernie made very few turns, and Harry had no idea how it wasn't crashing into houses, trees, bushes and muggle cars. He looked outside the window and it seemed that instead of being obstacles, everything the bus would have crashed into seemed to jump out of the way.

"I'm dreaming." said John, convinced that what he was seeing made no sense, magical or scientific.

"Won't the muggles see us?" Harry asked.

"Muggles? They don' know how to look properly, or hear properly! They don' see nuffink!" said Stan, laughing.

The bus continued hurtling towards the destinations of the wizards who came into the bus before Harry, Delilah and John, when eventually, John noticed an article about Sirius Black.

 _Black gone dark?_ read the title.

"Gone dark? Has no one seen him since Dufftown then?" John asked.

"Nope. Scary stuff, innit? Murderin' firteen people wif one curse, laughin' abou' it, and now no one has a clue where he's at!" Stan said.

"He's a supporter of Voldemort, isn't he?" John asked, darkly.

Stan went completely white.

"You outta your tree? 'Chu say 'is name for?" Stan asked.

"Sorry. But no leads for the ministry?" John asked.

"None. I reckon he won't be out for long though. Those Azkaban guards..." said Stan.

"Don't talk about them. Thinking about them gives me the shivers." said Ernie.

"It don't matter man! Leaky cauldron dead ahead!" said the shrunken head.

Before any of the three teens could react, the bus braked abruptly, nearly throwing them off their beds. They thanked Stan and Ernie and walked to the door of the leaky cauldron, where Tom, the toothless barman was waiting.

"We've been expecting you." said Tom, smiling at them.

"What? Really? Who's we?" Harry asked.

"The minister is here." said Tom, continuing to smile.

Harry and John gulped, and Delilah looked at the two of them worriedly.

They followed Tom to a room with a desk, where the minister was sat. He narrowed his eyes at John for a moment, not forgetting their encounter at Hagrid's hut, but spoke in a professional, very practiced manner.

"As the minister for magic, it is my duty to inform you that your uncle's sister was found, circling the chimney at number 4, Privet Drive. She was properly deflated, her memory modified. The situation is cleared up, so that's that! And no harm done." said Fudge.

John's mouth was wide open in shock.

"What? But I don't understand." said Harry.

"Understand?" the minister asked.

"We broke the law. Underaged wizards can't use magic outside school." said Harry.

"Oh come now, the ministry doesn't send people to azkaban for blowing up their aunts!" said Fudge, trying to appear jovial.

"Yeah, but they send official warnings when house elves use levitation charms in their houses." John challenged. Fudge's face turned serious again.

"Circumstances change. In any case, we only became aware that it was a house elf recently. You will be issued full apologies and your records on underaged magic erased. But that's not the most important thing I'm here to talk to you about." said Fudge.

"And what would that be sir?" Delilah asked suspiciously.

"Running away from home. That was very, very irresponsible, given the state of things. Especially you Miss Dursley, as I understand it, you were petrified by the basilisk last year because of almost the same reason. You were separated from everyone else." said Fudge.

Delilah looked down.

"And what is the state of things?" John asked.

"We have a killer on the loose. A particularly dangerous one." said Fudge.

"Sirius Black, we know, but what's he got to do with any of us?" John asked.

Fudge abruptly switched his tone to the jovial one again. All three of them could now see right through it, simply due to the slip up of pretending to be cheerful at the wrong time. Politicians may have been good actors in general, some of them better than the likes of Meryl Streep or Harrison Ford, but Fudge was not one of them.

"Nothing of course. You're safe here. And that's what matters. You'll be on your way back to Hogwarts soon. You can of course stay here, provided you can pay for it, or be brought back to Privet Drive." said Fudge.

"We'll be here." John said, quickly. There was no way they'd be going back to Privet drive for a long time.

"Very well. Tom, could you show them to some rooms?" the minister asked.

"Right this way." said Tom courteously.

"Oh, one more thing. Whilst you're here, stay within public zones." said Fudge, as the three of them were brought upstairs.

"Would you like separate rooms? We have rooms large enough for the three of you, but you can all have rooms to yourselves if you like." Tom said, leading them upstairs where most of the rooms were.

"Separate rooms please." said Harry. After Privet drive, he wanted some space to himself, rather than having to share a small room with a large brother.

"Do we pay now or at the end of our stay?" John asked.

"At the end Mr. Potter. Rooms eleven, fourteen and fifteen are free. Hope you enjoy yourselves." said Tom, giving a bow and heading back to the bar.

The three of them looked at each other, unable to believe the fact that they had just gotten away without any consequences. It almost made John feel invincible again, before he remembered what he looked like without a shirt. But whatever the case, they knew that they were about to have freedom, at a level which they had not yet experienced.

"Do you guys want to get some food?" John asked.

"No, I'm exhausted, I'm heading off to bed." said Delilah, yawning.

"Me too. We'll just see you in the morning." said Harry.

"Fair enough. But seriously, we've got some good luck for a change." John quipped.

* * *

Indeed it was - two years of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and finally they were able to relax for a while, with nothing to worry about at all. Plus, living right next to Diagon Alley for a couple of weeks with an inordinate amount of money in their Gringotts vault allowed for a great variety of activities. Furthermore, with the school term looming, they'd be sure to run into some of the many friends they'd made at Diagon Alley.

Sure enough, they ran into Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Hannah Abbott (who overtly flirted with John, likely trying to resume their activities of last year) and Neville Longbottom, who was accompanied by his very formidable looking grandmother.

Neville had said a lot about his grandmother before, and it seemed to be true just by looking at her. She did not look like the type of person to take any nonsense. Sure enough, she was berating Neville, who looked like he'd lost his book list.

"Hey Neville, I know you're doing the same subjects as me, look at mine." Harry offered.

Neville looked at Harry appreciatively, due to his rescue from his grandmother's displeasure.

"See Neville? It isn't hard to keep track of your things!" his grandmother said.

Harry also took advantage of being Harry Potter for the first time when he met Florean Fortescue, the owner of an ice cream parlour on Diagon Alley, getting free ice creams almost daily.

One particularly sunny day, John pointed out something particularly enticing for him and Harry.

"Oh yeah..." said Harry.

"Show me that tail..." said John.

Delilah heard her two cousins and sighed. They were probably gawking at some random attractive girl.

"Turn around baby..." John said, continuing what appeared to be very overt arousal.

Delilah started looking for both of them to snap them out of it.

When Delilah found the two of them, it turned out that both of them were gawking at something very different to an attractive girl.

They were staring through the window of the Quality Quidditch supplies store. At a broom.

"The new firebolt! Just been released!" said another nearby wizard, likely another Quidditch enthusiast.

"Zero to one hundred and fifty in just ten seconds? How?" asked another.

"Has to be the ironwork, goblin-made you know?" said another one.

The sign next to it did say 'price on request', and neither Harry nor John even needed it, owning two high-end racing brooms themselves. It didn't stop them from staring at it as if it were the holy grail itself.

"Boys." Delilah sighed to herself.

"Right. Can't get too distracted, I don't want to cheat on my Nimbus." said a grinning John, knowing Delilah was in earshot.

Delilah duly shook her head.

"Come on, we should go and get our books." said Delilah.

She was right - by now they only had a week, and the longer they put it off, the more likely they were to forget about it outright.

They headed to Flourish and Blotts, eating yet more free ice cream along the way and the manager greeted them. He looked somewhat disgruntled.

"Hogwarts?" asked the manager of Flourish and Blotts upon their entry.

"Yeah." said John.

"Move." he said, irritably, walking towards a cage, where a stack of the Monster book of Monsters copies were sat, waiting as if they were a bunch of alligators waiting to be fed at a zoo.

Delilah looked at the manager with a guilty face as he wrestled a copy out of the cage, before binding it shut with some tape.

"We don't need any more copies, we've already got some." Harry said, quickly.

"Oh, thank heavens for that! I've already been bitten five times this morning! It's getting- Oh for goodness sake! Stop it!" yelled the manager. Two of the books had seized a third and had started ripping it in half.

"I'm never stocking these again! It's madness! It's almost as bad as when we bought two hundred copies of the invisible book of invisibility! We spent a fortune and never found them!" The manager said in frustration.

Trying not to laugh at the image of a bookstore owner looking for invisible books, Harry looked at his booklist again.

"Err, I need one copy of unfogging the future by Cassandra Vablatsky" said Harry.

"That's a good one for your basic fortune telling skills, I'm guessing you're starting Divination then?" asked the manager as he headed towards a shelf dedicated to divination.

Harry wasn't listening to him though. Another book's cover caught his eye. 'Death Omens: What to do when you know the worst is coming'. The cover showed a large, black dog. Identical to the one from Magnolia crescent...

"Ah, I wouldn't read that if I were you." said the manager, noticing what Harry was looking at.

"You'll be seeing death omens everywhere, you won't want to leave your home. And even then, you'll be seeing some more omens." said the manager.

Harry tried to take his eyes off the cover, but it was still too much to be a coincidence if their last two years were any indication.

They bought the rest of their books and went on their way back to their rooms at the leaky cauldron.

Harry looked into the magical mirror in his room, looking himself dead in the eye.

"It wasn't a death omen I saw. It just looked scarier because it was dark." Harry told himself. The mirror did have a reply.

"You're fighting a losing battle there dear." it said in a tired, long-suffering type voice.

Harry's sleep that night was sporadic, scattered with dreams of that dog. Was that specific dog the death omen he saw on the book after all? Was it coming for John and Delilah too? Harry knew that John wouldn't care about some omen and just live as he normally would, and Delilah would see it as illogical. But being a wizard was illogical. Making objects float by pointing a bit of wood at them was illogical. They got there in a teleporting triple decker bus with beds instead of seats. Death omens didn't seem too far-fetched any more.


	3. The guards of Azkaban

**I took some slight liberties with Remus' appearance, I hope they work for you! Kudos to whoever spots what they are of course! I tried to make it subtle.**

Sleep did not come easily to Harry that night. It was well past three in the morning when he did eventually get to sleep, and his rest was marred by dreams of the dog, some of them rather violent, with the dog actually catching him, and about to tear him limb from limb, before he woke up again and again.

September the first was now looming, and thus far there was no sign of either Ron or Hermione. Perhaps they'd missed them? Perhaps they'd already bought their school supplies? Whatever the case, they knew they would see them again on the train or at Hogwarts.

At least that was what Harry thought before he saw Ron himself joining John in another firebolt gawking session, and Hermione and Delilah laughing at them. Ron had grown taller than ever, now as tall as most grown men, and Hermione was looking quite tanned from her time in France, whilst puberty was hitting her at a similar rate to Delilah.

Harry walked up to them, a huge grin on his face, before he heard Ron say 'Lockhart', which promptly shut both of the girls up.

"I was wondering if you'd ever wake up today, did someone spike you with sleeping potion?" John asked, upon noticing Harry.

"Ha-ha. Couldn't wait for me to say hi to my friends before making fun of me?" Harry asked, dryly.

"Well ignoring our pet gorilla, how are you? You look tired." Delilah said. (John let out an 'Oi!')

"Just didn't sleep properly, but I'm good, How are you two doing?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione.

"The holiday in France was... therapeutic to say the least." said Hermione.

"How so?" Delilah asked.

"I honestly wanted to completely forget about the past year. Getting petrified, John literally dying..." Hermione said quietly, so that no one else could hear.

"Makes sense. Come on, we'll be able to talk with some privacy at Fortescue's." said John.

"No surprises about your chosen destination." said Hermione.

"So yeah, go on." said Ron when they arrived.

"Being out of the country, especially somewhere sunny helped a lot. There was nothing nasty on my mind aside from Professor Snape's shrinking potion essay." said Hermione.

"That essay was really hard. I'd have thought you'd love it." John quipped.

"As hard as it may be for you to fathom, I am a human being." Hermione said with a considerable amount of sarcasm.

John gasped mockingly, causing Harry and Ron to laugh.

"Well I'm pretty much the same. It was really easy to forget about it all in Egypt. Mind you it wasn't all sunshine, those tombs were pretty fun, but really scary. Ginny couldn't even come in the last one because Mum was too worried about what it'd do to her, seeing that stuff." said Ron.

"I'll go out on a limb and say Ginny was not happy." said John.

"Oh yeah. Anyway, what about those monster books? The manager at Flourish and Blotts looked like he was about to cry when we asked for two." said Ron.

"Yeah, I don't get it. Old Kettleburn probably still has a serious pair of balls." said John.

"Lovely." said Hermione.

"Well in any case, I hope he tells us how to read the damn things. I haven't been able to open them without having to slam them shut and tie them up yet." said Ron.

"Hermione, what are those?" John asked.

Hermione had a second bag, filled to the brim with... something.

"I'm taking more subjects than you this year, aren't I? I needed more books." she said.

"More books is right... are you even going to be able to carry them?" Ron asked.

"Hermione? Forget Hermione, I swear I couldn't carry them myself!" John quipped.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I just want to learn as much as possible." she said, flatly.

"Yeah we know. Is sleeping or eating part of your grand plan this year though?" Harry asked, causing Ron and John to laugh.

"Hermione, didn't you say you're talking to McGonagall about that?" Delilah asked.

"Yes. I've got it all worked out." said Hermione.

"If you say so." said Ron.

"Anyway, I've still got ten galleons left. I think I'll get an owl. It'd be really useful, I could deliver letters whenever I want. You two have Achilles and Hedwig, both of whom Delilah can use, Ron, you have Errol-" Hermione said.

"Errol isn't mine, he's a family owl." Ron corrected.

"Whatever the case, having an owl sounds too useful, and I have the money." said Hermione.

"Well the menagerie's over there." said Harry, pointing at the Magical Menagerie. At this point he knew Diagon Alley very well.

"I might be able to get something for Scabbers there too. I mean he hasn't really been right since we got back from Egypt. In all honesty, he wasn't right for a bit of last year, but he recovered and I thought he was done with it." said Ron.

They paid for their ice cream and headed to the menagerie, which was filled with very obviously magical variants of otherwise ordinary animals, such as dancing rats.

"Showoffs." Ron muttered upon seeing them.

"Hello there, what can I do for you all?" asked the shopkeeper.

"Well my rat's been a bit ill for a while, I was wondering if you had anything for it." said Ron, pulling Scabbers out of his pocket.

"He's been through a lot, this one." said the manager, examining him.

"He was like that when he came to us." Ron said defensively.

"And how long ago was that?" she asked.

"Twelve years ago." said Ron.

"Twelve years? Wow. I was going to say he looked like a common garden rat but there's definitely something different about this one." she replied, whilst looking through her shelves.

"Ah, this might help. Rat tonic. Anything else?" said the shopkeeper, whilst Ron handed her the money.

Before Hermione could speak up about an owl, something large, hairy and orange landed on Ron's head.

"Crookshanks! No!" the manager screamed

"What the- Get off me!" Ron yelled.

After a few moments of struggling, Ron managed to pull what turned out to be a cat off his head, and he and Harry left the shop.

"What the hell was that?" Ron asked.

"Either a huge cat or a small tiger. Where are the others?" said Harry.

"Probably looking around the shop with Hermione, finding an owl." said Ron.

Moments later, Hermione came out of the shop, flanked by Delilah and John. Hermione was holding the very cat that just jumped on Ron's head.

"You bought that?" Ron asked, incredulously.

"I was as surprised as you were." John said, dryly.

"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" Hermione asked.

Harry took a good look at the cat. It was at least thirty percent larger than Delilah's, had thick shaggy orange fur and a squashed sort of face.

Clearly beauty was in the eye of the beholder.

"That thing nearly scalped me!" Ron said angrily.

"He didn't mean to, did you Crookshanks? The shopkeeper said he was stuck there for ages, no one wanted him!" Hermione said.

"Can't imagine why." Ron mumbled.

"Anyway, Ron you forgot this." said John, handing Ron the rat tonic.

"Cheers. Anyway, mum and dad are back at the inn, and we're having dinner soon, you should join us." said Ron.

* * *

Dinner was more enjoyable than usual, surrounded by Weasleys. Ginny seemed as shy as ever around Harry, but otherwise conversation was plentiful and enjoyable.

This was not the case later on in the night. Harry could hear Mr. and Mrs. Weasley passionately discussing something on the stairs below him. He was planning on heading down to the bottom floor for a drink, but stopped when he heard their hushed but frantic tones.

"Molly, what I'm about to tell you wasn't even supposed to leave the ministry." said Mr. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley remained silent for a moment, and Mr. Weasley continued.

"Black escaped last year, and no one has had any sightings of him since. He then gets sighted in Dufftown, all the way up North in Scotland. You know how far that is from Hogsmeade I'm guessing?" he said.

"Not even thirty miles, is it?" Mrs. Weasley replied.

"Based upon this, and what he was heard saying in his cells, the ministry says that he's headed for Hogwarts. For Harry.

"I was afraid you'd say that." said Mrs. Weasley.

"I need to tell him." said Mr. Weasley.

"You'll do no such thing! He's only a boy for Merlin's sake! He doesn't need to know a mass murderer is after him! And the Azkaban guards are being stationed around Hogwarts!" said Mrs. Weasley.

"Those guards wouldn't make me any more easy about this." Mr. Weasley said, darkly.

"And if the end up saving Harry?" Mrs. Weasley challenged.

"I'll never say anything against them again." said Mr. Weasley.

"But back to the point, you know by now how Harry is, the same goes for Ron, Hermione, John and Delilah! They've all ended up in the forbidden forest, they've been meddling in things far too dangerous for them!" said Mrs. Weasley.

"To that I'll say two things. Firstly, they've solved both problems despite being children. They aren't normal children. Secondly, this is different. This directly affects Harry. If I tell him, he's not going to go out looking for Black, a man who wants him dead. Harry doesn't look for trouble, but he's the type who doesn't sit idly by when trouble comes to him." said Mr. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley sighed.

"Do what you think is right. But make sure he fully understands just how dangerous Black actually is." said Mrs. Weasley.

Harry's stomach dropped. The death omen was looking less and less absurd by the minute. He saw that black dog at Magnolia Crescent, and now he finds out that a mass murderer is hell-bent on killing him...

* * *

Harry couldn't forget about the conversation he heard last night all through the morning, and it was still on his mind at King's Cross.

It didn't help when Mr. Weasley asked to talk to him aside from the others.

"Harry, I'm not going to mince my words. You're in danger. A lot of danger. Sirius Black escaped a while back and now he's been sighted in Dufftown. The ministry think he's after you. He was muttering things like 'he's at Hogwarts, he's at Hogwarts'. As far as we can tell, he's completely deranged. He thinks you're what's stopping You-Know-Who from returning to power. And he's escaped to find you..." Mr Weasley said, before trailing off.

"And kill me." said Harry.

"Harry whatever you do this year, swear to me, to yourself even that you won't go looking for Black." said Mr. Weasley, looking more serious than Harry had ever seen him.

"I won't, but Mr. Weasley... why would I look for someone who's trying to kill me?" Harry asked.

"You're not stupid. I know that. But the past two years, you've meddled in things you shouldn't have had to meddle in. Don't get me wrong, everyone is grateful for what all of you did, but this is a different situation. We don't want you to meddle here. The reason I'm telling you is because Black is one of the most dangerous wizards alive, and quite frankly, you don't stand a chance here. Before you say anything about the basilisk, based on what John was saying, a lot of that was luck." said Mr. Weasley.

Harry couldn't disagree with anything Mr. Weasley was saying.

"Don't worry Mr. Weasley, I'm not doing anything like that." said Harry.

"That's a relief! All that aside, have a good year, and feel free to write to us whenever you want!" said Mr. Weasley, far more upbeat now than when he pulled Harry aside.

"Thanks, I will." said Harry, who went to join the others, the discussion with Mr. Weasley at the forefront of his mind.

He caught up with the others, all of whom were searching for a free compartment, thus far to no avail. They eventually found one, but with only one occupant - a sleeping man, likely a member of staff. He wore very shabby clothes, but they couldn't see what he looked like - his cloak was over his face.

"Well everywhere else is full." said Delilah, as they got into the compartment.

"Who d'you suppose this is?" John asked.

"Professor R.J. Lupin." Hermione answered.

"What? How do you know that? I swear she knows everything..." Ron said.

"It's on his suitcase Ronald." Hermione said tiredly.

"Oh." said Ron.

Indeed, in gold letters (that looked faded and slightly peeled off) on the shabby suitcase, read the name of the sleeping man, R. J. Lupin. Hermione simply figured that he was a professor.

"How heavily asleep is he?" Harry asked.

"Knocked out pretty much. Why?" John asked, clicking his fingers near Lupin's face. Lupin didn't react at all.

"I've got to tell you something." Harry said, closing the door and locking it.

He then proceeded to tell them all about Mr. Weasley's heated discussion with Mrs. Weasley the night before, and Mr. Weasley's warning just minutes ago as the train started.

"It just doesn't fucking end, does it?" Ron said. Hermione didn't bother to admonish his swearing.

"So a stone that can bring Voldemort back, a snake that literally kills me and now a mass murderer? Never a dull moment." John quipped.

"How can you take this so lightly?" Delilah asked.

"Black isn't getting to Harry with Dumbledore in Hogwarts. Yeah, he's powerful and dangerous, but the only wizard powerful and dangerous enough to get to Harry with Dumbledore around is Voldemort. And let's face it, even Voldemort's afraid of Dumbledore. Whatever the case, Harry's had Voldemort after him twice. He failed twice. If Voldemort can't do it, how could Black?" John reasoned, the ghost of a smile on his face.

"Well you aren't totally wrong, but every situation is different, there are so many variables to consider." said Hermione.

"Yeah, I get that, but I'm pretty certain that with Black, there's just less stuff overall he's capable of, so less stuff to worry about." said John.

"Actually that makes sense. We should just focus on school." said Ron.

"Focus on school? Who are you and what have you done with Ron?" Delilah teased, causing the others to laugh for a moment.

"Well polyjuice potion is a thing after all! Who are you?" John asked, mockingly pointing his wand at Ron.

"You caught me. I am Sirius Black. I knew I could get close to Potter by using Weasley!" Ron said, and the continued and absurd narrative had the youngsters laughing for a while longer, before the train shook and came to a very abrupt halt.

"What the-" John started.

Something about the train felt... off. A breakdown would be a breakdown, but something was different right now. The air began to feel colder than usual, even for England. Ron looked outside immediately to see that indeed, what was previously rain had become snow... but only for a few hundred metres around. The air became increasingly thick with fog, and the bottle of water Delilah had immediately froze, and all of the lights on the train had gone out. Inside the train was pitch black, and outside it wasn't much brighter, and visibility was very poor with the freak weather conditions.

No, this was no ordinary breakdown.

"There's something moving out there." Ron said nervously.

The train shook again.

"Whatever it is, it's coming aboard." said John, drawing his wand.

The compartment door opened, and John pointed his wand at it, but familiar voices rang from it.

"Hello?" it was Ginny, and Neville was with her.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked.

"I was looking for you." Ginny said.

"Sit down then, but be quiet!" Ron whispered. He was trying to look and listen out for clues as to what was going on. Ginny and Neville did so.

"Okay, but can you tell me what's happening?

"No one knows-" John started.

"I'm trying to figure it out!" Ron interrupted.

"Quiet." said a hoarse voice no one had previously heard.

Professor Lupin had finally awoken.

His face was now visible - he appeared to be holding a fistful of flames. His face looked tired, slightly scarred and haggard, but one could easily tell that he was somewhat young, possibly in his early thirties. This was despite the fact that his hair was beginning to grey and his face was scarred. Perhaps it was his eyes? They looked very alert indeed. They were also a very unusual colour.

They were orange. They looked like they belonged on a different animal from humans altogether, and yet somehow they seemed to fit his face perfectly.

"Stay in your seats." he said, slightly less hoarse than his previous words.

He was looking towards the door. Harry blinked and something that wasn't present before he blinked was suddenly right outside the door. Whatever it was, it made his stomach lurch. It towered to the ceiling, it was a least nine feet tall, hooded and cloaked, breathing in loud, unnerving rasps. Harry looked to the floor and saw that it wasn't standing. It was gliding.

Something else didn't seem right. Harry felt... hopeless for lack of a better word. He felt as if nothing would ever go right for him for the rest of his days, and for some reason, he didn't feel like he was being overdramatic.

"None of us are hiding Sirius Black here. Leave." said Lupin to the creature at the door.

It didn't move. Both Harry and John began to feel extremely dizzy. Ginny began shaking violently.

"Go, you have no purpose here." said Lupin very forcefully.

Harry and John's vision both began to blur, and before anyone else figured out what was going on, they had passed out. Lupin muttered something, before a bright light erupted from his wand, and drove the creature away.

Before either of them blacked out, Harry and John both heard the same thing. Somehow, they were the only ones to hear it. A woman was screaming in terror. Loudly.

They woke up later to see the others in the compartment looking over them worriedly.

"So... what the hell was that?" John asked.

"That was a dementor. One of the guards of Azkaban, searching the train for Sirius Black. They're all gone now, but whatever the case, you should have some of this." said Lupin, grabbing something out of his trunk. It turned out to be a huge slab of chocolate.

"Chocolate makes you feel a lot better after encounters with dementors." said Lupin, giving Harry and John a piece each.

"I'm not complaining." said John, taking a huge bite out of his piece.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll have a word with the driver. I'll see you all at school." said Lupin, leaving to head to the front of the train.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

Ron looked uncomfortably at Hermione and Delilah. Neville was deliberately staying as silent as possible, and Ginny was staring out of the window.

"You sort of went rigid... we thought you might have been having a fit at first." said Ron.

"And did anyone else... pass out?" Harry asked.

"No. Ginny was shaking like mad, and none of us felt right during that whole thing." said Ron.

John, for once had nothing to say. Was he really just weak? Was Harry weak? That didn't seem right to him, but what other explanation was there for him and Harry just passing out like that?

"I've got to look into dementors. There's got to be a reason for what happened to John and me." said Harry.

"Don't worry too much about it. Dad said Dementors really get to you, no matter who you are. They affect people differently." said Ron.

That made both Harry and John feel a bit better.

"So I now get why everyone hates talking about the fabled Azkaban guards. Damn..." said John.

"We're slowing down... yes, I see Hogsmeade station." said Hermione, who was obviously wary about another dementor-enforced search of the train.

She wasn't alone, but unfortunately, it wasn't the train that she needed to be worried about the dementors showing up in.

When they arrived at the school, Harry, John and Hermione were pulled aside by McGonagall who was waiting at the entrance hall.

"I have things to discuss with the three of you. Don't worry, you aren't in trouble. This time at least. I daresay if you were, Mr. Weasley and Miss Dursley would be joining you." said McGonagall wryly.

The three of them followed McGonagall away from the crowd of students, and Madame Pomfrey met up with them.

"As I understand it, the dementors had a particularly strong effect on you two?" McGonagall asked Harry and John.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." said John.

"Professor Lupin gave us chocolate though, and we're fine now. Honestly." said Harry.

"A professor who has an understanding of remedies! Thank goodness!" said Madame Pomfrey.

"Well if that is the case, then you two had better head up to the great hall. I want to have a word with Miss Granger about her timetable." said McGonagall.

"Thanks professor." said Harry, before he and John headed back to the great Hall. A minute or so later, Hermione had jogged towards and caught up with them.

"So how are you doing all of those subjects exactly?" Harry asked.

"Don't worry, McGonagall and I have sorted it all out." said Hermione.

"If you say so." said John.

When they arrived at the great hall, they saw that the tables were already full

"We've missed the sorting!" Hermione said, clearly somewhat annoyed about that.

They found their seats next to Ron and Delilah, both of whom were shockingly jovial and full of laughter in spite of what happened on the train.

"Hey guys, what was McGonagall after?" Ron asked.

"Sorting something out with Hermione's timetable and checking that we're okay, which we are before you ask." said John.

"Good to hear. Oh, looks like Dumbledore's about to start announcing stuff." said Ron.

"Welcome, and welcome back to all! Before we start to forget about anything aside from our undoubtedly hungry stomachs, I would like to make a few important announcements. Firstly, I wish to welcome Professor Remus Lupin to our staff, as he has kindly accepted my request to teach Defence against the Dark arts. Help me in wishing him good luck!" said Dumbledore.

Upon seeing Lupin's shabby clothes, there was mostly scattered, unenthusiastic applause from the school. Those who were in the compartment with the dementor he sent away however, clapped harder than the rest.

"Next, Professor Grubbly Plank has decided to retire in order to spend time with his remaining limbs. Fortunately, his post will be taken up by none other than our very own Rubeus Hagrid!" said Dumbledore.

A lot of the students erupted into much louder applause than the round for Lupin. Harry, John, Ron, Hermione and Delilah knew how much this would mean to Hagrid, who was expelled before he could become a fully qualified wizard.

"Who else would have set us a biting book?" Ron asked, laughing fondly.

"Now on a more serious note, due to the sighing of Sirius Black in Dufftown, the ministry has decided to post the dementors of Azkaban at every entrance to the school grounds as you may have gathered by their search of the train. I am assured they will not disrupt our day to day activities, but whatever the case, I must advise caution. Dementors are vicious by nature. They will not distinguish between the one they hunt and the one who gets in their way. For that reason, I implore you all to give them no reason to harm you." said Dumbledore.

This caused some immediate discussion amongst the students, who were clearly at least a little bit frightened at the prospect of the dementors being in such close proximity to them.

Once the discussion died down, Dumbledore allowed the feast to begin.

"If the ministry are desperate enough to put those bloody things on the school, they definitely have no idea how to catch him." Ron said, darkly.

"But on the flip-side, it does make getting into Hogwarts significantly harder. It was difficult to begin with but now with them at every entrance, that's just an extra layer of security." said Delilah.

"Yeah, but something tells me that I'll have the misfortune of running into them more than once this year." said John.

"Maybe you'll faint again! Wouldn't that be a sight to see? Some saviours of the school you two are!" came the unmistakable mocking tone of Draco Malfoy.

"Getting really hard to not force feed him his eyeballs right now." Ron said, gritting his teeth. They were all trying to ignore him.

"Lovely image." said Delilah, dryly.

"You know what I mean." said Ron.

"Yes I do, and honestly, you're doing the right thing, ignoring him." said Delilah.

"Exactly, he feeds off getting under our skin. For whatever reason, it gives him some form of satisfaction and a sense of achievement. It must be a sad existence for him." Hermione said, wrinkling her nose.

"I'd love to see _him_ face what you three faced last year." said Delilah.

"I wouldn't... imagine how little hope we'd have if the school's fate was in that idiot's clammy little hands." said John, bluntly.

"Oh, no doubt, I'm just saying I'd love to see him face any basilisk, even one half the size of the one you described, and then try and downplay what you did." Delilah clarified.

The feast went on for a while longer, and as expected, John and Ron got looks of exasperation from Hermione and Delilah when they managed to continue eating for almost a full hour, before it was eventually time for bed.

The last few days were nerve wracking for Harry, with the knowledge that the dog was some form of death omen, followed by finding out that he was marked for death by an infamous mass-murderer.

However, as he lay in his comfortable bed, safe and sound in Hogwarts, he felt safe and content. He was finally home again.


	4. Blackest night

**Remember Hermione does have the timeturner, hence why I'm writing her in two places at once from time to time. (No pun intended)**

Walking into the great hall for breakfast the next morning, the first thing they saw was Malfoy telling a group of Slytherins what appeared to be a funny story, as he did an impression of a swooning faint.

"Ignore them guys." Hermione said shortly.

"Oh Potter! Both of you look out! Dementors behind you! Ooooooooh!" Pansy Parkinson cried mockingly.

 _Dementors don't even sound like that... is that all you've got?_ Harry asked.

"Parkinson! Look out behind you! It's animal control!" John replied, referring to her pug-like face.

The non-Slytherins nearby roared with laughter, and the Slytherins in Malfoy's entourage looked at John with loathsome looks (as per usual), but chose not to confront him - John was getting quite large.

They proceeded to the Gryffindor table and sat near Fred and George, who passed them some pieces of parchment.

"Your timetables." said Fred.

"Oh good, it looks like we have some new subjects today." said Hermione.

"What was all that noise about at the back of the hall?" George asked.

"Oh, just John putting Malfoy's entourage in their place." Ron said, buttering some toast.

"What was he doing this time?" George asked.

"Making fun of us about the dementors." said Harry, grumpily.

"Little git. I could have sworn he wet himself when the dementors got to him." said Fred.

"I said this yesterday, but imagine him trying to take on the basilisk last year." said Delilah.

"That'd just be sad to watch... he'd piss himself, cry and get eaten." said George, bluntly.

"All that aside, looks like we've got Divination first. What have you got?" Harry asked John.

"Ancient Ru...Hermione, you have both of them. Literally right now. And you've got Muggle studies and Arithmancy at twelve. What are you going to do about that?" John asked.

"I told you, it's all been worked out with McGonagall." said Hermione.

"Right..." said Ron, suspiciously.

The five of them headed off towards their lessons (Hermione, Ron and Harry being led to the Divination tower by the crazed painting of a knight named sir Cadogan).

Ancient Runes was largely a standard introduction to a subject which Hermione and Delilah found fascinating. John enjoyed it for what it was, but wasn't blown away or anything.

The divination lesson, however was completely different. Their professor looked like a five and a half foot tall glittering butterfly, and spewed out very exaggerated rhetoric about "the beyond!" or how the students must "broaden" their minds. Whatever that meant.

More troubling though, was how Professor Trelawney saw something called the Grim in Harry's tea leaf readings. The grim was supposed to take the form of a giant dog... it was an omen of death...

They headed down to Transfiguration next, which was still compulsory, Harry in a significantly worse mood when he headed down there. In fact, most of the students there were looking somewhat glum.

They seemed to not care when Professor McGonagall transformed into a cat and back again into her human form, whilst explaining the concept of animagi.

"Really, what is the problem with you all today? Not that it matter, but that is the first time my animagus transformation has not elicited applause or some sort of reaction." said McGonagall.

Hermione wanted to raise her hand and explain how they had a divination lesson, but realized that Delilah and John were also present; she had also attended Ancient Runes with them.

Dean raised his hand.

"Mr. Thomas?" McGonagall said.

"Professor, we've just had Divination, and-" Dean started.

"Ah, say no more Mr. Thomas. Which one of you will be dying this year?" McGonagall asked.

The class collectively gaped at her.

Harry spoke up.

"Me." he said.

"Alright. Well you should know Mr. Potter, that Sybil Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since her appointment at this school. Not one of them has died. You should feel quite safe." McGonagall explained.

Harry's mood was immediately lifted.

"True seers are extremely rare, and Professor Trelawney..." McGonagall started, before remembering her professionalism.

"Whatever the case, if you should find yourself in a coffin, you need not hand in your homework on Thursday." said McGonagall, causing Ron and John to both let out a bark of laughter.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. McGonagall is the unsung hero of Hogwarts." John said, laughing after the lesson was over, as they headed off towards Care of Magical Creatures, which they were all looking forward to.

"Yeah, and an animagus too!" said Delilah.

"So anyway, how was Divination? Harry's death prediction aside." John asked.

"Weird. Like... really weird. Trelawney I'm pretty sure is just loony, and she speaks in this crazy mystical way. I don't even know what to expect when it comes to homework and stuff." said Ron.

Hermione continued to stay silent on Divination and Ancient Runes to keep her secret.

* * *

Care of Magical Creatures started out very well, but unfortunately, ended disastrously. Whilst working with Hippogriffs was nothing short of exhilarating, Malfoy had royally destroyed the lesson by disobeying the first thing Hagrid said, causing Buckbeak, one of the Hippogriffs in the lesson, to attack him, ending with a Hagrid with his new job at risk, and Malfoy with a broken arm.

They attempted to comfort Hagrid later on that evening, to little avail. It seemed as if he was going to tone down the excitement of the Care of Magical Creatures lessons in future as well, based on the fact that he was mumbling about how he shouldn't have started with Hippogriffs.

Defence against the Dark Arts the next day however, was a far more entertaining lesson. Lupin had put Peeves in his place, given Neville a bit of confidence when it came to Snape (by clothing a Boggart which had transformed into him in his Grandmother's clothes), and allowed everyone to face their fears and quite literally make a mockery out of them.

Harry wasn't allowed to face his own Boggart, something he planned on asking Lupin about later. The same went for John. They and Hermione were the last in the queue and didn't even get to see what their worst fears were. But Harry and John already knew what it was. Flashes of rotting skin, and a ten foot tall, hooded and cloaked figure would enter their minds.

Hermione, meanwhile had more ideas than just facing Boggarts when it came to Lupin's intentions.

"I mean of course they're on the syllabus, and we need to know about them, but I think the way he taught us was ingenious. All of us may not have had the chance, but a lot of us faced our fears, and just turned them into something amusing. I think he's trying to tell us something deeper than just how to handle Boggarts." said Hermione.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." said Delilah, quoting Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous inaugural speech.

"That's what I was trying to remember!" said Hermione.

"Sounds a bit vague though. I mean, why would you not be afraid of... say a man pointing a gun at your head?" John asked.

"It's about thinking with a clear head. Fear clouds our judgement. Plus we only have this life and we can't waste it by being afraid."said Hermione.

"So I get why you two would figure that out and thanks for telling us as usual, but I don't think everyone else is going to figure that out." said Ron.

"It puts the concept in the back of their minds I'm sure." said Hermione.

"Don't you have to have brains for that to apply?" John asked.

"What are you getting at?" Harry asked.

"Well Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were in the lesson..." John said, causing the others to laugh.

The three aforementioned Slytherins were also in the potions lesson which was later on that day.

Malfoy was predictably using his injury to his advantage, in situations such as having Ron cut his ingredients up.

Seamus however, came to Harry with news - Sirius Black was sighted by a muggle even closer to Howgarts than last time.

"Thinking of trying to catch him yourself Potter?" Malfoy asked.

"Yeah, that's what we want to do." said John sarcastically.

"Of course if it were me, I wouldn't be staying in school like a good little boy, I'd be out there. Trying to get some revenge." said Malfoy.

"Rev-what are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"Oh, you don't know?" Malfoy asked, with a very sadistic looking smile on his face.

"Or perhaps you want to leave it to the dementors. I'd just want to get square myself." said Malfoy.

"Malfoy, what are you on about?" John asked, before Snape cleared his throat to instruct the class further.

After the lesson, Ron insisted that Malfoy was trying to goad Harry or John into doing something stupid, which Hermione and Delilah both agreed with.

However, what was on their minds more was the fact that Hermione was constantly carrying around an inordinate amount of books, despite the fact that Defence against the Dark Arts and Potions were their only lessons for the afternoon. Furthermore, Hermione had seemingly vanished at the top of a staircase, only to reappear at the bottom.

"I'm getting the idea that she's hiding something." said Ron to John, who agreed wholeheartedly.

* * *

Defence against the Dark Arts, unlike previous years had very quickly become a collective student favourite class. Lupin's teaching skills were seemingly on par with even the likes of Professor McGonagall, but combined with a great deal more enthusiasm and interest elicited from the students. The jazz music he would play in classes didn't hurt either. In fact, it got John somewhat obsessed with older music; he vowed to buy a copy of Benny Goodman's 'sing sing sing' as soon as he returned to the muggle world.

As for the creatures they studied, they were just as interesting as Boggarts, such as Red caps, which would wait in areas of long-forgotten bloodshed, hoping to bludgen passers by, and Kappas, which looked something like scaly, water dwelling monkeys with webbed hands, ready to strangle any unwitting visitors of their ponds.

This level of satisfaction was not met by other classes. After Malfoy's stupidity, Hagrid had lost his confidence and got the class caring for Flobberworms, which were arguably the least interesting creatures known to mankind.

Snape had undoubtedly heard about what Neville did to his Boggart which took the form of the feared Professor and had taken to bullying Neville more than ever before.

Almost as bad as Potions was Divination for Harry, Ron and Hermione, who had grown to dread the hours spent in the humid, stiflingly hot classroom of Professor Trelawney, who would spend half the time pointing out ways in which Harry could die the next day.

However, the start of the sports seasons lifted their spirits dramatically. John was surprisingly made captain of the third and fourth year Gryffindor team for rugby in spite of him being the joint youngest player on the pitch with Harry, and Quidditch practices were going better than ever.

Moreover, Hogwarts was gearing up for their first match with another school, again with first and second years, third and fourth years and fifth to seventh years grouping together. The girls rugby was not popular enough for it to be competitive - instead, they played amongst themselves as they did the previous year.

John was not the captain of the Hogwarts boys third and fourth year team, but he, Ron, Harry and Dean did make it into the team, which they were especially proud of given the sheer amount of competition.

Somehow Malfoy made it into that team. Malfoy was by no means a bad rugby player, but John could think of two Hufflepuff fourth years who could take his position and perform better.

Whilst Quidditch practices for Gryffindor were largely just business as usual (high quality, but relaxed) rugby practice for the school team was beyond high intensity.

Some of the girls would come to watch (for obvious reasons - the rugby players tended to be the most physically fit students), but all of them were slightly taken aback by how seriously the training was being taken. John for example, did not even hold back in tackling drills against Ron or Harry, and Cormac McLaggen, a big, heavily buillt Gryffindor in the year above Harry could be seen truly putting Malfoy through his paces physically.

Clearly Hogwarts desperately wanted to win their first inter school sports match.

"Do you think they're going to hurt each other?" Hermione asked Delilah worriedly.

"They _are_ hurting each other. That's the point. But John was telling me how it's either this, or get even more badly hurt during a match, whilst losing the match to boot." said Delilah.

"I know, it's just not easy to watch if you care about some of the people playing." said Hermione.

"Nothing compared to Ron's infamous chess game though. Especially when he made that self sacrificing move." said Delilah, feeling a chill go down her spine at the memory of that night.

"Of course, but touch wood, we won't be putting ourselves in situations like that any more. But seeing them enjoying such a rough sport makes me wonder..." Hermione started.

"Wonder what?" Delilah asked.

"If the boys... get off on danger." said Hermione.

"In some ways I think they do. Especially John. But mostly for the adrenaline. And I doubt they like the danger aspect, given that they fought a basilisk." said Delilah.

"I know that, but it just doesn't make me too comfortable." said Hermione.

"But it makes _them_ happy, just like learning makes you happy." said Delilah.

"Yes, but I just don't understand why. How could putting yourself in potentially harmful situations be fun?" Hermione asked.

"Boys are different to girls. I'm sure John has some evolution-based explanation for why boys like risk taking more than girls." said Delilah.

"John would have an explanation? Really?" Hermione asked.

"He hides it well but he's really interested in animals, and that sort of got him into reading about evolution this summer." Delilah explained.

"Interesting..." Hermione mused.

"I know... John reading of all things!" Delilah joked.

"Well I was actually wondering whether he's grown up enough to have something of an intelligent conversation." said Hermione.

"Now that you mention it... most conversations with him and even the other two are just crude, about homework or funny." said Delilah.

"Well whatever the case, my point is that I'll watch their matches but... it's not going to be easy watching them pummel and get pummeled." said Hermione.

"Oh I agree. They enjoy it though, so I won't say anything. By the way... all of us have been meaning to ask you something." said Delilah.

"Oh?" Hermione asked.

"Ancient Runes and Divination are at the same time. Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle studies are on at the same time. I can't vouch for muggle studies, but both John and I saw you at our first Ancient Runes lesson. Harry and Ron must have seen you at Divination, else they'd have asked about where you went. That would put you in two places at once after all." said Delilah.

"Don't be ridiculous, how could anyone be in two places at once?" Hermione asked, trying to play it off, but Delilah saw straight through the act.

"They'd ask _you_ how." Delilah quipped.

Hermione looked alarmed. She didn't expect anyone to notice that quickly, given the fact that she was so silent regarding the matter.

"Wha-but-" Hermione tried.

"Come on Hermione, it's me. I know you're doing something to be in two places at once, not telling me what you're doing isn't going to do you any good. The boys have noticed too. We're the only ones, so your secret is safe with us." said Delilah.

Hermione stayed silent, before sighing and coming clean.

She pulled out some form of locket from around her neck.

"This is a time-turner. McGonagall gave it to me on the first day. I can travel through time for short periods, enough to get to all of my lessons." said Hermione.

"Time travel... why not?" Delilah commented wryly.

"I already know that I'll be telling John, Ron and Harry, I mean if I don't, you will, but can you promise to keep it between us?" Hermione pleaded.

"Absolutely. It's us, you can trust us." said Delilah, reassuringly.

Indeed, Hermione did tell the boys after their rugby training session as they relaxed under a tree near the pitches. Despite being September, it was still hot outside.

"What?!" Harry asked, upon hearing Hermione's confession of time travel.

"I knew you were up to something but... what?" Ron said.

"Should've known if anyone was going to use something as powerful as time travel for school it'd be Hermione." John quipped.

"You aren't going to tell anyone, are you? I told McGonagall I wouldn't tell anyone!" Hermione said, worriedly.

"Of course. But blimey Hermione, aren't you going to get tired?" Ron asked.

"I suppose I will as the year drags on, but I haven't been affected yet." said Hermione.

"If it starts getting to you, just drop some classes." Delilah said seriously.

"But I couldn't! There's so much to learn!" Hermione replied.

"Muggle studies?" John asked sarcastically.

"Learning about them from a wizard's perspective is fascinating!" Hermione said.

"Yes, but what does it amount to? What do you get out of it? A mixture of correct and incorrect information." said Delilah, bluntly.

"And you said Divination's really dumb too." said Harry.

"That was more due to Professor Trelawney's theatrics." said Hermione.

"You also said that Divination was a 'weak discipline'. Not much to actually learn." said Ron.

Hermione stayed silent.

"The point Hermione, is that you're doing too much, and not all of it is necessary. You can cut back on all this you know?" said Delilah.

"I will if the stress gets to me and I feel overworked, but I'm fine so far." said Hermione dismissively.

* * *

Lessons continued as usual, but Harry, Hermione and Delilah were feeling a bit more depressed day by day, as the first Hogsmeade weekend was looming and they did not have signed permission forms. John tried asking McGonagall, but to no avail, and it seemed as if they'd have to just deal with being the only students in third year and above stuck in the castle from then on.

Ron and Hermione meanwhile, weren't getting along as well as normal. Crookshanks had tried to attack Scabbers more than once, and it hadn't gone unnoticed. It was putting a strain on their friendship, and making Harry and Delilah feel awkward. John, however, decided that they were both being stupid.

"You two are being idiots." John said, bluntly.

Ron looked sheepish, but Hermione gave John a challenging look.

"Ron, cat's chase rats because they're natural predators and prey. You have to expect it, and Crookshanks can't help himself." he said. Hermione looked at Ron smugly.

"But Hermione, you're acting as if it'd be perfectly fine if Crookshanks ate Ron's pet. Think about it this way. What if Fluffy ate Crookshanks?" John asked, referring to the giant three-headed dog that Hagrid owned.

The smug smile was wiped off Hermione's face.

"You've got to keep Crookshanks under control when Scabbers is nearby. Your pet, your responsibility. No two ways about it. And let's face it, it's harder to keep track of a tiny brown rat than a giant orange cat." said John.

"When did John start acting like their dad?" Harry muttered to Delilah.

"I... don't know. He's supposed to be the immature one." said Delilah.

The day of the Hogsmeade visit came finally, and despite the attempts to cheer them up, Harry, John and Delilah felt awful. Once they'd seen Ron and Hermione off, having received promises of honeydukes sweets upon their return, they dragged their feet up the grand staircase.

Halfway up, they ran into Professor Lupin.

"Oh, I didn't see you there, how are you?" He asked.

"Well... we've been better I guess." said Harry.

"Where are Ron and Hermione?" Lupin asked.

"Hogsmeade." Delilah said gloomily.

"Ah." he said, looking at the three youngsters carefully.

"Well I've received a delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson. Would you care to join me in my office for a moment?" Lupin asked.

They didn't see the harm in it. Having some company would certainly help.

Upon arriving at Lupin's office, they saw a tank in the corner, with the grindylow inside. The youngsters looked baffled at the odd little creature.

"Water demons. But after the kappas, they shouldn't prove too challenging. You see their elongated fingers? They are strong, but very brittle. The trick is to break their grip." said Lupin.

"Brittle... it's OK for us to just break their fingers?" John asked.

"You won't. They know when they should let go. If you put strain on their fingers, they will let go of you." said Lupin.

"Interesting..." said Delilah.

"I certainly like to think so. Do you want some tea? I was thinking of making some." said Lupin.

"Alright, thanks." said John. Harry and Delilah also agreed.

"I only have teabags with me. Though it would appear that you are sick of tea leaves." said Lupin, a knowing smile on his face.

"How did you-" Harry started.

"Professor McGonagall told me. You aren't worried, are you?" Lupin asked.

Harry considered telling Lupin about the dog on Magnolia crescent, but didn't want Lupin to think him incapable or cowardly, especially after his disallowing of him even facing a boggart.

"No." Harry said finally.

Some of Harry's thoughts may have betrayed themselves on his face, unlike John, who appeared stoic as ever.

"Is something troubling you?" Lupin asked.

"No." Harry lied, thinking of the boggart and the dementors.

"Yes." Harry said finally.

"You remember the day we took on the boggart?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Lupin said slowly.

"You didn't let me face it, but never told me why." said Harry. John perked up upon hearing this.

"I would have thought that was obvious." Lupin said, taken aback.

"I thought the Boggart would have taken the shape of Lord Voldemort. It wouldn't exactly do for someone like him appearing in a school classroom, boggart or not." said Lupin.

Harry, Delilah and John all looked surprised.

Aside from Dumbledore, Lupin was the only person to say his name with no semblance of fear that they'd met.

"I was wrong clearly." said Lupin.

"Well honestly, Voldemort didn't even come to mind. I just kept thinking of the dementors." John said, finally.

Lupin looked to Harry.

"Me too." said Harry.

"Well, I'm impressed. This suggests that the thing you both fear more than anything else is fear itself. Very wise." said Lupin, smiling.

"Were you thinking that I didn't think you capable of handling a boggart?" Lupin asked, looking mildly amused.

"Well... yeah." said Harry, grinning.

"Actually, about the dementors-"John started, before a knock came at the door.

"Come in." said Lupin, and Professor Snape entered the room.

Snape was carrying a goblet which was releasing some form of faintly green smoke. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of Harry, John and Delilah. Clearly, four of Snape's least favourite people were all in one room.

"Ah Severus, thank you. If you could leave that at my desk, that would be wonderful." said Lupin pleasantly.

Snape did so.

"You should drink that directly. I have made a cauldron full of it should you require more." said Snape.

"I will, and I should take some tomorrow, thank you." said Lupin.

Snape gave Lupin a curt nod and swiftly left the room, his eyes stopping on Harry and John once more before he left.

Lupin picked the goblet up and saw the three others staring at it.

"Professor Snape has kindly brewed this potion for me." said Lupin.

"Why?" John asked.

"Well I've been feeling somewhat off-colour lately. This potion is the only thing that helps. I'm not much of a potioneer myself, and not many wizards are even good enough to make it. I am lucky to be working alongside Professor Snape." said Lupin, as he drank from the goblet, making a disgusted face as he did so.

"Professor Snape is really interested in the dark arts." Harry blurted out without thinking.

"Really?" Lupin asked.

"Well we've been told that he is interested in the defence against the dark arts job at least." said Delilah, trying to put as much nuance into her statement as possible.

"And some people think he'd do almost anything to get it." John said, without any semblance of subtlety.

"Interesting. Oh, look at the time! I think I'd better get back to work, I'll see you at the feast." said Lupin.

* * *

"There you go." said Ron, cheerfully later on in the common room, as a shower of brightly coloured sweets fell onto the table in front of Harry, John and Delilah.

"We got as much as we could carry." Hermione said, happily.

"Wow, thanks!" said John, looking at Ron and Hermione, both pink-faced from the cold winds, but looking as if they'd just come back from the most entertaining day of their lives.

They immediately launched into a long discussion about all of the things Hogsmeade had to offer, but the discussion then turned to the goblet that Snape gave Lupin.

Whilst Hermione said that Snape wouldn't try to poison Lupin with three witnesses, she didn't seem entirely convinced.

After the feast, they headed back to the common room to see at least a hundred Gryffindors waiting outside.

Percy decided to stamp down his head boy authority and pushed his way to the front to see what the problem was, but Hermione had already spotted it.

"The fat Lady! She's gone!" Hermione said.

"Someone immediately fetch Professor Dumbledore!" said Percy, and Katie Bell did just that.

Dumbledore arrived at the scene with Filch and McGonagall.

He took one look at the portrait, which was slashed very heavily, chunks completely missing from it.

"Round up the ghosts Mr. Filch. We must search every painting in the castle to find her." said Dumbledore.

"No need your headship." said Peeves, who was watching the scene unfold with obvious amusement.

"Tell me what happened Peeves." said Dumbledore, an uncharacteristic amount of force in his voice. Clearly he took the safety of the students extremely seriously.

"Well he was trying to get into the common room, but didn't have the password. So he just lost his temper and attacked the painting. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."


	5. Collision

**Quick reminder for American readers. Year nine is Hogwarts third year, which is the eighth grade for you guys. You can work out the other years based on that :) Also, tell me if you want me to go into more detail during rugby matches about what actually happens, in the style of Quidditch matches as seen in the books. I'll give you a taste of it, but if you want me to go through more of a full match in that style, please tell me. Furthermore, if you don't spot this yourselves, I want to draw attention to how eerily similar to his father John is in the later part of this chapter. I hope you enjoy the dynamic I've tried to build up. This is the first of many breaking points created by John's similarity to James Potter.**

* * *

If it weren't for Dumbledore's presence, there would have been complete pandemonium throughout the school.

He had ordered all of the students into the great hall to sleep there for the night, and the professors all conducted a thorough top-to-bottom search of the school after he conjured hundreds of sleeping bags for the students.

The great hall was the scene of a lot of excited chatter about what was happening.

Discussions about whether Black was still in the school were rampant, before Percy stamped down his authority as head boy and told everyone to go to sleep.

Harry stayed awake though, despite lying in his sleeping bag like the others. Eventually, he heard some of the staff return.

"I've searched the astronomy tower and the divination tower Professor. Nothing." said Filch.

"I have swept the dungeons headmaster, there was no sign of Black, nor anywhere else in this castle it would seem." said Snape.

"Well I didn't expect him to linger. Any chance that he was spotted and he would have gone underground. He always was resourceful." said Dumbledore.

"A remarkable feat, don't you think? To enter Hogwarts castle of all places, undetected, and escape it as well?" Snape asked.

"Quite remarkable, yes." Dumbledore mused.

"Do you have any theories as to how he did it?" Snape asked.

"Many. Each more unlikely than the last though. It is irrelevant. If he were to re-enter the castle, he would not do so the same way. Predictability was never part of his being. For now, we must keep the school secure. I will certainly have a word with the minister. The dementors are not doing their job sufficiently." said Dumbledore.

"What about Potter? Should he be warned?" Snape asked.

Upon hearing his name, Harry's stomach gave a jolt.

"Perhaps. But for now, he should sleep. Moreover, I'm not sure he's ready to know the truth as of yet." said Dumbledore.

Harry inwardly thought to himself how he already knew the truth. Also, Dumbledore was aware of him facing mortal danger twice in a row. Why would he not think him ready to know that a murderer was after him? All things considered, Black was not as dangerous as a basilisk after all... Maybe there was something else to this whole situation.

Did Malfoy know what that was? He was being awfully cryptic during that potions lesson...

"But what is the truth" Harry suddenly heard Ron asking.

"You're awake?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, so am I." said John.

"I am too, but Hermione's pretty much knocked out right now, so keep it down." said Delilah.

"What do you suppose the whole truth is though? I seriously doubt he wants to protect us from knowing that he's after you, you can easily handle that knowledge." said Ron.

"Perhaps but maybe they're just trying everything possible to keep Harry out of trouble?" Delilah asked.

"True, plus that'd keep us four out of trouble too. At least they're hoping for that much." said John.

"Shut up." came the sleepy and extremely annoyed voice of Hermione.

As shocked as they were at the bluntness coming from Hermione, she did have a point. They promptly slept off.

* * *

There wasn't much time in their busy schedules to dwell or discuss the events of that night. Hogwarts was preparing for their first rugby match with another school. Their first ever rugby match with another school.

One may have argued that Hogwarts players were less experienced than some others, but on the flip-side, they were extremely well funded by the anonymous donor when it came to coaching and equipment. Better funded than almost any school for rugby, save for elite muggle private schools such as Eton or Merchant Taylor's.

Their first game was with another school in Scotland, and their students also were educated in a castle. Not one quite as big as Hogwarts but certainly not small. They were taken there on what could only be described as a convoy of muggle buses, and it was very obvious that the school they had travelled to was once a fortress.

Draco Malfoy could be heard loudly complaining to Crabbe and Goyle about how inefficient Muggle transportation was compared to wizard transportation. Thankfully he was at the back of the bus so the driver couldn't hear him, but the back half of the bus certainly could.

Dean was gritting his teeth in anger.

"Why is he even here? He's still injured." he said.

"He's still a member of the team. Thankfully we don't have to play with the fucker yet. Plus, I hope his sub plays really well so he can just get kicked." said John.

They were sat on the third and fourth year team bus; each team had a bus to themselves.

"Sure could use Hermione or Delilah about now. They know how to not lose their shit around that arse." said Ron. Hermione and Delilah were on one of the other buses.

"Suppose we'll have to learn as long as he's part of this team." said Harry.

"Doesn't mean we have to like it. I can't wait until he recovers so I can 'accidentally' injure him in training." said Dean.

"Count me in." said Ron.

All thoughts of Malfoy and his annoying nature were forgotten when they arrived and had walked out onto the pitch in their kit. The Hogwarts kit was split into four sections, each with a colour representing a house. The top half was Green and red, and the bottom half was yellow and blue.

The field they walked out onto was a vast one with many pitches on it, with enough space for spectators. Rugby posts could be seen on each one, with the linkes inked onto the very green, freshly mown grass.

They were very impressed.

They didn't have time to look out at the field, as their opponents walked onto the pitches. At least for the third and fourth year teams, their opponents were quite large. Their average player size was somewhere in between the size of Ron and John, which was more than a little worrying - size was extremely useful in rugby.

Based on how they were warming up in training, they looked skillful too.

But the Hogwarts team were not pushovers. John still looked to be arguably the strongest player on the pitch (though a player on the opposition team could have held that title), and the players in fourth year tended to be very skilled for whatever reason.

Harry, Ron and John got smiles from Hermione and Delilah when they showed up on the sidelines along with all of the other students who chose to be there.

Once the warmups were complete, the players were given five minutes to relax, during which John decided to start talking to the opposition.

"So you've got loads of other students watching from your school. Do they play?" One of the opposition players asked John.

"They've played but they just didn't make the teams. Plus not enough girls wanted to play for them to compete. Our school just gave all the students an option to come and watch." said John.

"Blimey, I wish we could have our year watching us." he replied.

"Yeah but it's probably going to add pressure or something. I won't feel it but my brother will. I'm John by the way. I'm playing number eight. You?" John asked, holding out his hand.

"Dan. Also number eight. I'll try not to run you over too hard." he said, smirking.

"You run me over once, and I'll buy you... I'd say a beer but I'm thirteen." said John, smirking back.

"Thirteen? You in year nine or eight?" asked Dan.

"Nine. I'm just younger than most of the others." said John.

"And your brother?" Dan asked.

"He's a twin. Not exactly identical though." said John, pointing Harry out.

"Bloody hell, please tell me he's in the pack!" said Dan, referring to Harry's (lack of) size.

"No, he's on the wing." said John, laughing.

Before they could continue their conversation, a whistle was blown to signify that the players needed to get in position for the game's start.

When the game in fact did start, the spectators who didn't have a strong understanding of rugby saw chaos. Bodies flew and/or were thrown to the ground. The ball was being kicked at times which they didn't understand. But they did understand who had the upper hand at any given moment.

As for the players, they understood everything that was going on.

Harry wasn't surprised to see John being used as a battering ram on legs, nor was he surprised to see Ron and Dean's towering height used to full effect in gaining possession. What he was surprised to see was Crabbe running surprisingly fast. Harry, a winger was one of the fastest players on the pitch, but Crabbe was able to keep pace with him.

He however, did not appreciate when Crabbe "accidentally" stepped on his stomach in the middle of a ruck.

"Sorry Potter." he said, but Harry could see the smirk on his face.

The match was a very close and intense one, with plenty of extremely hard collisions. Harry knew for a fact that he'd be heavily bruised by tomorrow. It would certainly put a damper on Quidditch practice.

The opposition team were good. Very good. They held a five point lead throughout most of the game, and the captain, a Ravenclaw fourth year named Nathan Horne called for a time out before the last five minutes.

"We're only five down. We score under the posts and we win. We score in the corner and we either tie or we win. Right now, they've got us pinned. Thoughts?" he asked.

"Try and kick for territory?" asked Cormac McLaggen breathlessly.

"Too late. We have to win. If we kick for territory, they'll run it back and we'll be pinned in our half again. We have to keep posession and run at them. Hard. What do we have to lose?" John said.

"You're right... OK, here's the plan. On the restart, we have a scrum. We have to win that. John, run it as hard as you can. We keep the ball in our hands. No one kick, or we've lost. Try to offload instead of getting into rucks. We can't give them a chance at gaining possession again." replied Nathan.

"Alright. Let's go!" said Ron.

The plan started off as expected - Hogwarts won their scrum, and John duly ran hard at the opposition, running a full fifteen metres, dragging two opposition players with him.

Harry heard Hermione and Delilah cheering particularly loudly at that.

When John's legs were finally trapped by a third player, he offloaded the ball to Ron, who barged a smaller player out of his way, and ran a further five, but he couldn't offload and was brought to ground. Thankfully, support was there and Ron presented the ball to William, their scrum half, a Hufflepuff fourth year, who did not hesitate to pass to McLaggen, who went on another barging run into the centre of the field.

McLaggen's run had drawn in defenders. Harry realized that his flank was almost undefended.

"Will! Here!" Harry called, and he was duly passed the ball, and Harry sprinted down the flank as fast as his legs would carry him.

In spite of him playing a very demanding game, and being exhausted, with his legs full of lactic acid, he felt like he was flying down his wing. The try-line was in sight... but suddenly, he felt someone tap out his feet from under him. The opposition fullback tap tackled him! Harry knew he couldn't risk a ruck, and wildly threw the ball in the general direction of his teammates, praying that his team would catch it.

He felt immense relief when he saw none other than John running full speed onto the ball, catching it with one hand, and using the other hand to literally throw a defender into the cold, wet mud.

The spectators let out audible grunts - they could almost feel the pain of the poor defender who got in John's way.

Hermione could be heard screaming "How?!"

John was only five metres from the line, but he now had another person hanging onto his left leg.

With all his might, he pumped his right leg, and miraculously dragged himself over the line, touching to ball down to level the score. Hogwarts supporters erupted into applause.

"We've tied it! Machado, please make this kick!" Ron said to their fly half, a lean, relatively muscular and handsome fourth year Slytherin of Spanish origin.

He had the standard Slytherin arrogance, and as a person, Ron didn't like him much, being the only one out of himself, Dean, Harry and John to have spoken to him off the rugby pitch, but he was a good team player when it came to rugby and he generally made his kicks count.

Everyone present watched with bated breath at Antonio Machado's attempt at goal.

To the disappointment of Hogwarts and relief of their opposition, he missed. Machado looked devastated.

"Don't worry Antonio, we wouldn't have even had a chance without you setting it up in open play." said Nathan, putting a hand on his shoulder. It was true - Machaho did play well.

The players all shook hands, and congratulated each other on a hard fought game.

Harry couldn't help but think the opposition deserved to win. They were actually a better team. But then again, it was a testament to Hogwarts' teamwork and heart.

"Blimey John, you run hard!" Harry heard the opposition number eight saying to John.

"You tackle hard Dan." John replied.

"I try." said Dan, laughing.

John and Dan introduced some of their teammates to other people involved in the game, such as Ron, Dean, Harry from Hogwarts and Jack, James and Hugo from the opposition.

Thus the true meaning behind rugby and indeed, sports finally became clear to them - playing your heart out on the game, and making friends with the enemy afterwards. Sure enough, Crabbe and Goyle didn't try the latter, and simply went off with Malfoy, doing whatever it is they did.

Delilah could be seen talking to Machado, something which Ron narrowed his eyes at.

Delilah was putting a comforting hand on his shoulder - either Machado actually blamed himself for the lack of a win, or he was putting on an act to get closer to Delilah.

Harry and John didn't notice - they were too busy exchanging training stories and laughing with Jack, Dan, Hugo and James.

Ron turned back to the conversation but made a mental note to keep an eye on Machado, in case he treated girls in a similar fashion to John, but with the unwelcome addition of manipulation and disregard for their feelings.

* * *

"That game was so close, I can't believe you didn't win at the end!" said Delilah when they arrived back at Hogwarts.

"They were better. I'm honestly surprised we drew." said Harry.

"If your winning comes down to a really difficult kick, then you weren't good enough in the game." said Ron.

"But hey, first game and we draw against a more experienced school. I'd say we're doing alright." said John, cheerfully.

"So a lot of girls seemed to enjoy watching us. Anyone in particular?" he added.

Delilah and Hermione rolled their eyes.

"Point taken. You two aren't going to help out." said John, raising his hands.

"Speaking of that sort of stuff though, I saw you talking to Machado Delilah..." said Ron.

Delilah blushed slightly, and John and Harry seemed to spark into protective big-brother mode.

"And?" she asked.

"Nothing. Just that I've talked to him myself and he doesn't seem like the kind of guy we'd want to be around." said Ron.

Delilah rolled her eyes.

"Ron? I'm a big girl I can handle myself." she said.

"I know. I just don't know what he'll be up to is all." said Ron.

"I'm probably going to have to side with Ron on this one. I've never heard Malfoy badmouthing him, so that's an obvious red-flag." said John.

"Yes, but you've never heard Malfoy badmouthing McGonagall. You really think Malfoy sees eye-to-eye with her?" Delilah challenged.

"True, but Machado trains with us twice a week and he's not a professor." said Harry.

"I suppose it all remains to be seen. Though I am glad you're not bringing up that he's a Slytherin." said Hermione.

"Oh come on, we're not that stupid. You judge a person based on what they say or do, not where they are." said John.

"Actually, that being said, where they are does have an influence on what they say or do." John mused.

"Yes, but it isn't one deciding factor. Just wait and see how it plays out. Plus, we don't even know if he'll talk to me again." said Delilah.

"Would you be upset if he didn't?" Harry asked.

"No. I hardly know him at this point." Delilah said nonchalantly.

A flicker of some kind of emotion on her face planted the seeds of doubt in the boys' minds. They couldn't read what that emotion was, but it was certainly something.

* * *

Time absolutely flew between the day of the first rugby match and the first Quidditch match, which by now was the very next day. People were already excited and talking about it - though due to Malfoy's injury, it was Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff.

Until then, Harry was finding it difficult to focus on lessons, but thankfully, Defence against the Dark arts was next - something he'd enjoy and focus on.

He was held back by Oliver Wood, who spent ages discussing seeker-specific tactics with him. John left him behind, smirking broadly like the 'cheeky little fucker' he was, at least according to Harry himself.

When Harry arrived at the classroom, he was not greeted with the sight of Professor Lupin teaching them about a fascinating creature. It was Professor Snape, going over and heavily criticising the work they'd done thus far.

"Potter. That's ten minutes late. Therefore you have lost ten points from Gryffindor." said Snape.

"Yes sir." Harry replied, gritting his teeth.

"Sit down. Today we will be discussing... _werewolves._ " said Snape, putting particular emphasis on the topic of discussion.

"Sir, we've only just finished Red caps, Hinkypunks and Kappas." said Dean.

"Then you are woefully behind. I would expect first years to correctly handle Red caps." said Snape.

"Then why were spells to deal with Red caps in the standard book of spells for grade three?" John challenged.

Hermione looked at him in shock.

"You told him that this morning." said Delilah.

For Hermione, "this morning" was almost six hours ago. Not two.

"Because your syllabus is for lack of a better word, weak Potter, now be quiet." Snape snapped.

John rolled his eyes, but did as Snape said.

"Now, to start, who can tell me the difference between an animagus and a werewolf?" Snape asked.

Hermione's hand shot into the air, followed by Delilah's.

"No one? How disappointing..." Snape said.

"Please, sir. An animagus can elect to transform into an animal. Werewolves don't have any choice. With each full moon, when they transform, the werewolf is forced to take the shape of an exceptionally large canid, up to two hundred kilograms. Furthermore, unlike animagi, they do not retain human minds unless wolfsbane potion is used. They prey upon humans, and a werewolf would kill their best friend should their paths cross." Hermione replied, sounding as if she and the textbook were one in the same.

Snape rolled his eyes.

"I did not ask for you to answer. You would do well to learn to not speak out of turn Granger. I suppose you take pride in being an insufferable know-it-all. Five points from Gryffindor." said Snape.

Hermione looked down, and Harry spotted tears starting to appear in her eyes.

As a testament to how much the class hated Snape, they all glared daggers at him, despite the fact that most of them had already called Hermione a know-it-all.

Though some of them did so in a more friendly manner.

"You asked a question and she answered it correctly. And you take points away?" Ron asked.

Immediately the class knew that Ron crossed a line.

"Five points from Gryffindor Weasley, and it'll be doubled for every further time you criticise the way I teach." said Snape.

John was having no more of this.

"He was criticising the way you teach, but he's not wrong. I think it speaks volumes about your character too. You asked if anyone could tell you the difference between an animagus and a werewolf, and she raised her hand. You ignored her because you're a spiteful little shit." said John.

The class collectively gasped, and Snape looked like he practically glided towards John's desk, his cloak billowing behind him.

John stood up and looked him in the eye.

"She answered your question correctly and you decided to bully her. What's wrong with you? Did someone bully you as a kid? Were you a bully as a kid? Both maybe? Whatever happened in your pathetic little childhood is irrelevant. You're a teacher now. A professional. Bullying students is spiteful and pathetic. You want to take points from me? I'm taking this up with Professor Dumbledore, McGonagall and anyone else who'll listen." John said. He had clearly lost his patience. That was certainly saying something - John was not a short-tempered boy.

Clearly, something about Snape just got under his skin.

Harry noticed that John's comments practically had Snape ready to pull out his wand and curse him. Snape had forgotten about his authority as a teacher and didn't even take points from Gryffindor. He didn't see John as a student any more. No, John was his enemy. Furthermore, did John just correctly psycho-analyse Snape?

Whether he did or didn't was irrelevant. John was right about the professionalism. Snape was bullying students.

Ron spoke up next.

"And it's not just Hermione either. Neville, Harry, John, Delilah, me. All Gryffindors by the way. Some professional you are." Ron said.

"Weasley sit down. Potter and I have business with Professor Dumbledore. The rest of you, begin writing an essay. Four feet about werewolves, which will continue as homework. I want particular emphasis on _recognizing_ them. I expect them on Monday." said Snape, not taking his eyes off John for even a second.

"After you. _Professor."_ John said, glaring at Snape and saying his job title mockingly.

* * *

John was no more willing to back down when he and Snape were stood in front of Professor Dumbledore after he and Professor Snape explained themselves.

Dumbledore started with John.

"John, I understand your thought process, but you cannot disregard authority so blatantly." said Dumbledore.

"I would respect his authority if he respected the students. He doesn't. In any case, people have to earn my respect, if they're in positions of authority or not. This slimy git hasn't done anything to earn any respect from me." said John, trying his best to not shake with anger. He wasn't doing a good job. Snape glared at him once again upon hearing him being addressed so unabashedly rudely.

"Please address him properly at least John. And while it is not naturally part of your character, you must learn to handle authority better. Authority is part of our society for a reason. A structure is built for us to be a part of, and the structure works to uplift individuals." Dumbledore explained with a remarkable amount of patience. Perhaps John reminded Dumbledore of himself in his youth? Uninterested in authority?

"You'd think that, and I get it. With hi-Professor Snape, I clash a lot. But that's not happening with Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, hell it doesn't even happen with Mr. Filch. I mean with Mr. Filch, I know I'm breaking rules, and I'm doing it for fun. But it's not like that with Professor Snape. Why?" John challenged.

"That is true, and rest assured Severus and I will discuss this at length. But you are not innocent." said Dumbledore.

"No. But you can't argue that I'm more in the wrong than a professor who's bullying a student for answering a question correctly. He literally called Hermione an insufferable know-it-all. And you won't deny that, will you Professor?" John said.

Dumbledore found himself surprised. That in itself was a rare occurrence, but considering that it was with regards to Severus Snape, someone he knew particularly well, and that a third year student, no less was arguing a case so well, without using emotions as an argument, rather using reason to justify his emotions instead was very rare in someone so young.

"In this instance John, I'm going to have to let you off with a warning. If I find that you behave like this without any justification however, know that your punishment will be severe." said Dumbledore.

John could feel Dumbledore's bright blue eyes practically giving him a mental X-ray. It was quite unnerving, and in that moment, John understood why the genial old man was so terrifying to someone like Lord Voldemort. You could not get anything past that man. He was just too good at reading you and seeing right through anything misleading you could say. It really was scary.

"So... should I head off?" John asked, awkwardly.

"Yes. We will finish this discussion in private." said Dumbledore, and with that, John left.

After Snape explained the situation from his point of view, Dumbledore's analysis was almost identical to John's.

"And you immediately thought of your school days." said Dumbledore.

"How could I not? Potter is so similar to his father that he may as well not have died all those years ago!" said Snape.

"And is that a bad thing?" Dumbledore asked.

"You remember as well as I do what James Potter was like." Snape said.

"In his younger years, yes. You still refuse to believe it of course, but he was a good man." said Dumbledore.

Snape remained silent. He would never forgive James Potter for as long as he lived, and the Potters, especially John were nothing but a reminder of the tormenting he was on the receiving end of.


	6. Hogsmeade Village

When John returned to the Defence against the Dark arts, he was looking confused. The rest of the class stopped what they were doing. It was filled the the sound of quills scratching on paper, students talking about werewolves, but John's return stopped all of the sound completely.

Sure enough, John saw and felt the thirty or so pairs of eyes on him when he entered.

"Err... I'm not getting punished at all. Sounds like Dumbledore's about to have a pretty stern word with Snape." said John, sitting between Hermione and Delilah who were the most curious about what had actually happened.

"Blimey John, you've got some hangers on you!" said Seamus.

John, among others burst out laughing.

"Hangers! That's- that's bloody brilliant!" said Ron in between laughs.

"Yeah, but you got Snape to lose his shit without him taking points or giving detentions! That's brilliant!" Dean said.

"Err... I don't know how though. I think I might have hit home about the professionalism thing. At least with Dumbledore." John mused.

"So you're not in trouble... and Snape is?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. Looks that way." said John.

"What did Dumbledore say to him?" Harry asked.

"When I was leaving I overheard Snape saying some crap about dad and how I'm just like him. Dumbledore didn't like that. But I was out of earshot after that." said John.

"Why didn't you stay to listen Potter? Afraid Snape would out your dad as something you don't want to hear?" Malfoy sneered.

"No actually. I just have too much respect for the most powerful and accomplished wizard alive to eavesdrop." John replied coolly.

Malfoy scoffed at the most powerful and accomplished comment but didn't press further.

Delilah and especially Hermione would normally have not encouraged blatant disrespect of a professor, but this time was definitely different.

"Thank you John. And you too Ron." said Hermione.

"No problem. I wonder why he didn't take me to Dumbledore's office though?" Ron asked.

"Again, probably something to do with John's dad and how he's like him. He probably just sees you as an annoying student, but John as an extension of his dad who he clearly didn't like." said Delilah.

"That makes sense." said Ron.

"Maybe he'll get fired." said Harry, dreamily.

"I wouldn't want him to lose his livelihood, but it wouldn't be totally unjustified." said Hermione.

"I don't think he'll be fired. But this might just be the moment that Snape starts acting something close to fair." said Harry.

"He won't be totally fair, he'll show that stupid Slytherin bias, but maybe he'll stop bullying people." said John.

"Bias? It's not Snape's fault Gryffindors are incompetent." said Malfoy.

"Have you seen Hermione's marks?" John replied calmly.

Malfoy was shut up again.

It struck Harry how differently John reacted to Malfoy and Snape. Unless Malfoy did or said something particularly vile, John really didn't get too angry. Snape was the only person in the world who could so easily get under his skin. At least as far as he could tell.

* * *

By the end of the day, word had spread like Wildfire on how Ron and John had called Snape out and not been punished. At dinner time, they were bombarded by mostly Gryffindors, but also some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws with questions and congratulations.

Snape swept past them, and where he would normally have ignored them, he stopped by at where John was sat alongside Ron, Hermione, Harry and Delilah. Everyone nearby went silent.

"Consider this a formal apology. I will not tolerate your more... unsavory behaviour however." Snape said shortly. His eyes were fixed on John. The loathing was still there, but it was obvious that Snape saw that he was in the wrong.

John nodded to the professor, who went on his way.

He and Ron then proceeded to enjoy the attention they got from girls who praised how 'brave' and 'selfless' they were being. Hermione rolled her eyes. It wasn't as if they'd faced a basilisk and Voldemort himself or anything. No, Snape was far harder to face, clearly.

Sure enough, John was seen taking a girl by the hand and heading out of the hall.

"Don't wait for me." he said, smirking

More surprising though, was the fact that Ron did the same.

Harry stared at Ron in wide-mouthed shock.

"Et tu Ron?" He asked no one in particular.

"They grow up so fast." Delilah said, dryly. Her eye was caught by Machado, followed by a blush, so she couldn't say too much.

Harry didn't see either Ron or John until later that night in the dorm room.

Ron was the first to arrive, with a goofy looking grin on his face and a slightly disheveled uniform.

"Lad!" Seamus called loudly upon Ron's appearance.

Ron shrugged and sat down on his bed, but the grin never left his face.

John returned a few minutes later with his hands in his pockets, looking down at the floor.

"Blimey I thought you were about to go and have some fun John, what happened?" Harry asked.

"Oh nothing. I just got to keep this." said John, pulling out a bra from his pocket.

Seamus, Dean and Neville looked at the bra as if it were the holy grail.

"John! You mean you saw her..." Neville started.

"Tits? Yep." John said nonchalantly.

"And?" Seamus asked.

"Tits are awesome. That's all I have to say on the matter." said John.

"Fuck me... you just had to go and upstage me, didn't you?" Ron asked, though he was grinning broadly at John.

"What can I say? I cannot be resisted." said John.

Harry couldn't help but wonder how much his ego would be fed by escapades like this.

"Why do you still have her bra?" Harry asked.

"She let me have it. Call it a souvenir." John replied with a cheeky looking grin on his face.

"Well try not to let the image of a girl's breasts distract you during Quidditch tomorrow." said Dean.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Hufflepuff aren't bad, but they aren't great either. I'm probably the best chaser in the school anyway, and that's not just me being an arrogant twat. Oliver, Katie and Angelina agree." said John.

"I wonder what Diggory's got planned to try and nullify you and Harry at the same time." said Seamus.

"Nothing will work. If both Hufflepuff beaters focus on Harry and John, Angelina and Katie can just do whatever they want, and they have no one protecting their chasers. We've won this. Unless their beaters perform at like... international level tomorrow." said Ron confidently.

"Speaking of Quidditch, we'll need to rest." said Harry, and with that, the boys agreed on a lights out.

* * *

The next morning absolutely did not bring good Quidditch conditions. It was raining, clouds were thick and grey, and the fog was making visibility past about fifty metres impossible.

Immediately after kickoff, Harry was struck by just how hard it was to see what he was doing. He was supposed to search for a rapid, flying ball the size of a walnut in this?

He certainly didn't know how it was possible for John to be putting on yet another prodigal performance, but sure enough, he was. Harry chalked that down to chasers having a generally easier job than seekers.

But his glasses put him at a particular disadvantage next to Cedric Diggory, who was a talented seeker in his own right anyway.

Harry decided that he'd had enough.

"Wood! I can't see a thing!" Harry said.

Wood nodded and called for a time-out.

This was the first time Harry could see the scoreboard. It was only five minutes into the game, and Gryffindor were already up by fifty, but Harry was worried about his ability to see the snitch to seal the game.

The Gryffindor team ran under their tent, trying to figure out what to do.

"I don't have a damn chance at even seeing the snitch with these on, let alone catching it!" Harry said.

"How well can you see without them?" Wood asked.

"Not well at all. I wouldn't be able to tell that it's you from here unless I heard your voice." said Harry.

Wood restrained himself from cursing, but as if on cue, Hermione appeared.

"Harry, I've had an idea! Hand me your glasses!" she said, and Harry did so.

"Impervius!" she said, tapping them with her wand.

"It'll repel water for an hour now!" she said, happily.

"Hermione... will you marry me?" John asked jokingly, causing the Gryffindor team to laugh and Hermione to blush.

"Just win!" she said.

"That we can do. Let's hit them hard!" said George, mounting his broom, leading the team back out.

Harry could vaguely hear the commentary over the storm.

"Horne has the Quaffle, he's being chased down hard by Johnson, and sure enough, Potter comes out of nowhere and steals it! He beats James and Robson and scores!" came the voice of Lee Jordan.

It seemed as if John's playing style which was normally about overpowering opposition players and wrestling the quaffle out of their hands adapted well to bad weather - he could come from a spot where no one was looking and steal the ball before they knew what was going on.

"Potter is putting on an absolute clinic on how to play chaser today!" said Lee, as the Gryffindors in the crowd roared in delight.

Harry couldn't get caught up in John's dominance - he spotted Cedric Diggory racing in one direction with a single mind, which could only mean one thing. He chased Diggory down and sure enough, saw the glint of gold ahead of him.

But something happened that distracted him for a moment completely. Lightning struck from behind the clouds, and silhouetted against them was a formation of clouds that looked exactly like... the grim?

He didn't stay distracted though, he momentarily re-acquired his target, and began to pursue it.

But before he could plan his next few moves, something very odd started to happen. The whole pitch went into silence. Had he gone deaf?

His stomach gave a lurch when he felt a horrible, familiar wave of coldness sweep through his body, and by instinct, he looked down. Dementors were on the grass of the Quidditch pitch. A hundred dementors at least.

Two of them flew straight at John, and Harry watched in horror as he fell off his broom, before Harry began to hear something in his head. The same screaming woman from earlier on the train. But now he could make out what was being said.

"No! Not my boys!"

"Stand aside you stupid girl!"

"Not my children! Take me instead!"

Harry's vision swirled into some kind of white misty substance. Why was he flying on a broom? This woman was about to be murdered, her children too! He had to stop this!

A high-pitched male voice was laughing, the woman screamed and Harry no longer heard or saw a thing.

"Lucky the ground was so soft."

"They look a bit peaky."

"Wouldn't you expect that after falling fifty feet?"

"Let's throw you off the astronomy tower and see what you look like!"

"Ughhh." Harry finally recognized the voice of John groaning as he sat up.

Harry opened his eyes and saw himself and John in beds at the hospital wing, surrounded by some of the Gryffindor team, Ron, Hermione and Delilah.

"What the hell happened?" John asked.

"The dementors. You guys fainted and fell off your brooms." said Fred.

"Fuck... please tell me we didn't lose the match." said John.

"Err..." said Angelina.

"Brilliant. What was the margin?" Harry asked.

"Only seventy points. John put in some serious work before the dementors showed up." said George, trying to cheer Harry up.

But Harry couldn't feel better. At least John had put in a big contribution to the team effort before the dementors came. He couldn't do his own job. He had for the first time, lost a Quidditch match.

Another figure came to the two beds. It was Cedric Diggory.

"Listen, guys, I'm sorry, I didn't realize what happened when I got the snitch. I tried to call it off, but-" Diggory started.

"But dementor attacks aren't covered in Quidditch rules, so technically, it was a fair win." Katie finished.

"Dont' worry about it." said Harry.

Diggory nodded and awkwardly walked off, the guilt visible on his face.

"Dumbledore looked completely furious, I've never seen him like that. He pointed his wand at you two and slowed your falls, and then shot something silver out of his wand and drove all the dementors off." said Delilah.

"And... well there's something else you should know too. After you fell, your brooms crashed into each other. And... then they hit the whomping willow. You know the whomping willow. It doesn't like being hit..." said Ron, presenting two destroyed, splintered Nimbus 2000 broomsticks.

John sighed.

"Well I was having such a good week. Should have known it wouldn't last. Oh well! Live and learn! I'm hungry." said John, who was shockingly upbeat. Katie handed him an apple, smiling at him.

Harry couldn't share John's optimism.

This was the second time he'd seen the grim, and the second time he'd nearly died. The first time, he was almost turned into paste by a bus, and the second, he'd fallen fifty feet of a broomstick.

Was he going to look over his shoulder for the beast for the rest of his life until he finally did die?

And that didn't even begin to address the elephant in the room. The dementors. Every time he thought about them, he felt humiliated. The dementors reduced him to nothing. The same went for John, and Harry had no idea how John was brushing it off like that. Or was it all an act for John?

"I do have to do something about the dementors though, they're really starting to mess with my head." John said through a mouthful of apple.

That answered that question... they clearly got to John too, but he wasn't quite as humiliated by them. He was just equally affected by them in the moment.

* * *

Returning to the busy schedule of school life a couple of days later was relieving. In spite of enduring Malfoy's impressions of dementors and swooning fits in potions lessons, it gave him other things to think about. Though the fact that Malfoy had fully recovered and now could use both arms to aid in his theatrics didn't help. Especially since he could now do it in rugby training sessions as well.

Defence against the dark arts was better though - Professor Lupin had returned.

After yet another enjoyable lesson about yet another weird and wonderful, albeit potentially dangerous creature, Lupin stopped Harry and John before they left.

"I'd like a word if you don't mind." he said.

John shrugged and he and Harry followed Lupin into his office.

"I heard about the match." he said.

"And the broomsticks. Is there any chance of making repairs?" he continued.

"No. That tree just completely splintered them." said Harry.

Lupin sighed.

"It was planted the year I arrived at Hogwarts. People would play games, trying to get as close to it as we could, but one student nearly lost an eye, so we were forbidden to go near it. Broomsticks wouldn't stand a chance." said Lupin.

"And did you hear about the dementors?" John asked with great difficulty.

"Yes. I did. Not many people have seen Albus Dumbledore so angry. I imagine they've been growing restless, frustrated and angry with Dumbledore not allowing them directly into the school grounds. They were no doubt the reason you fell? I've heard a lot about your flying skills, both of you." said Lupin.

"Yeah. I just have to ask. Are they targeting us on purpose? And if they aren't why do they affect us so badly?" Harry asked.

"I can't tell whether they are targeting you on purpose, but rest assured, their effect on you has nothing to do with weakness." said Lupin, as if reading their minds.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures known to us. They feed on every good thought, every happy memory, until one is left with nothing but their worst experiences. They revel in decay, despair and fear. They make us relive the worst experiences of our lives, making our pain their power. The worst experiences in your lives... are more than enough to make anyone faint or fall off a broom." Lupin explained.

"When they get near me I hear things. I figured out what it is. I'm hearing Voldemort murdering my mother." John said, making no effort to hide his bitterness and hatred of the dementors.

"The same thing happens to me. Why did they show up at the match?" Harry asked.

"They're getting hungry. A Quidditch match, with everyone's emotions running high would be something of a feast to them." said Lupin.

"Azkaban must be..." Harry started.

"A real life version of hell." John finished.

Lupin nodded grimly.

"It is. It's nothing but a fortress on a small island, with impenetrable stone walls, and it's out at sea. But I know they don't need the walls. They don't need the water. The inhabitants are trapped in their own minds with no semblance of a happy thought allowed to stay in their minds. Most go completely mad within weeks." said Lupin.

"And Black managed to escape them." said Harry.

"Yes. I don't know how, especially without access to a wand." said Lupin.

"There must be ways to defend yourself against them then. I mean, you for example, you made the one on the train back off." said John.

"I did, but there was only one that night. When there are multiple dementors, it becomes so much harder..." Lupin said.

"But you still made it back off." said Harry.

"I don't pretend to be an expert in fighting dementors you know." said Lupin, who knew exactly what the two brothers were getting at.

"You're better than us." said John scoffing.

"I don't want to risk them messing up another Quidditch match." said Harry flatly.

"Well I suppose, given that they've developed something of an interest in you, perhaps I should. But we'll have to start next term. I have so much to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill." said Lupin.

The promise of anti-dementor lessons and the fact that Gryffindor didn't have to play again for a while, combined with the fact that Ravenclaw obliterated Hufflepuff all lifted Harry's mood immeasurably.

Better still was Gryffindor third and fourth year's rugby team annihilating Slytherins, with a score of twenty-nine to five.

Harry did have to endure Malfoy's taunting regarding the dementors though, and the fact that he'd now fully recovered meant that he was doing spirited imitations of someone fainting and falling off their broom, as well as rather poor impressions of dementors which somehow amused his Slytherin cronies. Low standards for humour it seemed.

Not all of Slytherin was amused; the likes of Daphne Greengrass, Elia James and Richard Hugh, whilst not being friends of Harry or John just found the jokes to be poor jokes.

"I suppose it takes a bad joke to make nothing but bad jokes." John commented whilst Malfoy was making another theatrical dementor impression, causing Harry and Ron to snort into their pumpkin juice at breakfast.

The time passed by at what was seemingly an increased pace, and before they knew it, December was upon them, and the Christmas Hogsmeade weekend was being hotly discussed.

Ron and Hermione had decided to stay back, Ron citing his inability to deal with Percy for an extra two weeks as his reason, whilst Hermione cited her workload and the library being too useful. Of course, they just wanted to stay with their friends, and Harry, John and Delilah were grateful.

However, they (as expected) began discussing their plans for the Christmas Hogsmeade visit, Hermione pointing out that they could do their Christmas shopping there, and Ron talking about how he was looking forward to whatever Honeydukes has put on sale for Christmas.

As with last time, Harry, Delilah and John were there to wave them off to Hogsmeade. Unlike last time however, Fred and George came to them, sporting identical grins.

"Err... should we be worried about those grins?" Delilah asked.

"We noticed you're not going to Hogsmeade, and dear Ronald has of course informed us why." said George.

"Yes... so what does that have to do with you?" Harry asked suspiciously. Whenever Fred and George looked happy, mischief was sure to follow.

"Well, come with us. We think we can get you there." said Fred.

John raised an eyebrow and followed them, mostly out of intrigue. Harry and Delilah shrugged and followed as well.

Fred and George, when they were sure no staff member was anywhere to be found, pulled out what appeared to be a piece of parchment that was at least twenty years old. They handed it to John, and looked at him as if they'd given John nuclear launch codes.

"Parchment... thanks?" John said.

Fred gasped.

"Parchment! The poor boy! So ignorant!" he said.

"We have to educate them Fred. It's the only way." said George.

Fred grinned and tapped the parchment with his wand.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." he said.

The parchment began to change. Ink filled its face, and before they knew it, writing appeared.

"Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present: The Marauders' Map." John read out.

"We owe them so much. Open it up." said George.

John did so and his eyes widened.

"That's Hogwarts!" he said.

Harry and Delilah uncharacteristically shoved their heads in between John and the map. Hogwarts? Being mapped?

And that wasn't all...

"No... that can't be-" Harry started.

"Dumbledore. In his study." said George.

"Pacing. He does that a lot for whatever reason." said Fred.

"So you're telling me that this map..." Delilah started.

"It shows everyone in Hogwarts. Where they are, where they're going." said Fred.

"Where'd you get it?" John asked.

"Nicked it in first year, from Filch's office. When we were young, innocent and wide-eyed." Fred said.

"More innocent anyway." said George, upon seeing the looks on the younger teens' faces.

"Now listen. If you want to get into Hogsmeade, there are seven secret passages Filch knows about four of them, one of them leads to the whomping Willow, and one of them has caved in. This is your best bet." said Fred, pointing at a particular passage.

"It leads into Honeydukes Cellar, so make sure you're not spotted when you get there." said Fred.

"Believe us when we say that it's difficult to give this to you, but we've decided that your needs are greater than ours." said George.

"One last thing. When you're done reading this thing, tap it with your wand and say : Mischief managed. Or anyone could read it." said Fred, doing as he described.

* * *

It wasn't long before Harry, Delilah and John predictably found themselves straight in Honeydukes cellar. It was full of crates and boxes, and smelled very, very strongly of sugar. Harry and Delilah had to grab John, who was clearly very tempted, and not thinking about being caught. They weren't supposed to be there.

They heard muffled voices from above.

"Bring some more Jelly slugs, they've almost cleaned us out." said one of the shopkeepers.

The youngsters stayed down as the worker came down the stairs and carried three boxes full of sweets back up to the surface.

"Let's go." said John quietly.

They climbed out of the trapdoor, which blended so perfectly with the wooden floor, that it was almost impossible to tell that it was there. John made a mental note of its general whereabouts.

They snuck up to the top, but by the time they were there, it was so crowded that no one looked twice at any of them. Honeydukes was as incredible as Ron was describing. Levitating lemon candies, chocolate everywhere, and a shelf with 'unusual tastes' with a bunch of sixth years looking at them. They included things like blood-flavoured lolipops. Maybe vampires visited Honeydukes on occasion? It was an all-wizard village after all.

They spotted Ron and Hermione and grinned, before sneaking up on them.

"D'you think Harry'd want these? John'd try anything, and Delilah would probably throw them back at my face." Ron asked, shoving a jar of cockroach cluster under Hermione's nose.

"Definitely not." said Harry.

Ron almost dropped the jar.

"Harry! John! Delilah, how..." Hermione said.

"You've learned to apparate?" Ron asked.

"Don't be ridiculous. Come on, I'll explain." said Delilah, before everything about the Marauders' map was explained.

"Those weasels! They never told me about it!" said Ron, outraged.

"They said something about our needs being greater than theirs. Mostly because we can't get to Hogsmeade. But let's be honest. They know we'd tell you about it." said Harry.

"But you can't keep it! You have to hand it in to Professor McGonagall!" Said Hermione.

Harry gawked at her.

"Are you mad? Hand in something that good?" Ron asked.

"What about Sirius Black? He could be using one of those passages on the map to get into the castle" she said.

"He can't be. There are seven passages from Hogsmeade to the castle, and Filch knows about four of them. One of the other three is caved in, another is underneath the bloody whomping willow, and the other one which we came through... well from either Hogsmeade or Hogwarts, it's impossible to spot unless you already know it's there. There's a statue of a one-eyed witch literally on top of the Hogwarts end, and there's a password too. And the Hogsmeade end is in Honeydukes cellar, which Black couldn't get to without going out in public." John reasoned.

Ron then cleared his throat and pointed to a sign which told everyone that dementors would be patrolling Hogsmeade at night.

"If Black showed up in the daytime, there are hundreds of witnesses. If he showed up at night, dementors are swarming the village." Ron said, smugly.

"But you three don't have the forms signed!" Hermione said.

"You going to report us?" a grinning John asked.

Hermione sighed.

"No." she said, finally.

"Then let's enjoy ourselves! Ron, what do we have here?" Delilah asked.

Ron happily showed them around the rest of the shops, before they all bought some. Upon walking outside though, they were immediately struck by how absurdly cold it was. The wind literally hurt their faces.

Harry looked at John and he was baffled to not see him shivering like himself and Delilah - they weren't planning on heading to Hogsmeade and so didn't have coats or jackets.

Ron and Hermione were of course prepared.

"Let's head to the three broomsticks. A butterbeer'll warm you up." said Ron.

A pub sounded like a great idea- warm building, warm food and a place to sit and relax.

They walked in to see the pub relatively crowded, but not to the level of Honeydukes.

John found a table in the corner, expecting fully to discuss things that most people shouldn't know that they were discussing, especially since he, Harry and Delilah shouldn't have even been there.

"First round's on me but I obviously can't be seen buying them. You can keep the change, I hate having random coins which I can't spend." said John, handing Ron Two galleons. Butterbeer was priced at two sickles each.

"You three have to try butterbeer obviously, but how much d'you want?" Ron asked.

"Whatever the biggest size they've got is." said John.

"They've got sizes that cater to ogres here." said Hermione.

"Alright, I'll have the biggest human sized one." said John.

"Half a pint." said Delilah.

"Pint for me." said Harry.

Ron came back five minutes later with five differently sized tankards, two gigantic ones which were no doubt for himself and John, one small one for Delilah and two pint-sized ones for Harry and Hermione.

It was the most delicious drink they'd ever had. It seemed to warm them up from the chest out, and the buttery, sugary flavour was unforgettable. It tasted something like butterscotch, but less sticky. There was a hint of alcohol in it, but John read the board and apparently, the drink only consisted of 0.5% alcohol. Negligible at best unless one were to drink at least ten pints for normal sized people, and more for larger people.

"Wow. Who invented this stuff?" John asked.

"I don't know, but I don't care if they were a man or woman, I want to marry them." said Ron, causing the others at the table to laugh.

John all of a sudden stopped laughing upon spotting something outside the nearby window.

"John? What's going on?" Hermione asked, but her question was answered when she herself looked out of the window. Hagrid was there, and he wasn't alone. He was with Professor McGonagall, Flitwick and Cornelius Fudge, the minister for magic.

"We've got to get out of here." said Harry, but it was too late. They were entering the pub. Harry, Delilah and John dove under the table.

Harry silently prayed that they were only there for a drink and a talk.

That was the reason for their presence, but the subject of their discussion would make Harry and John both regret ever coming there.


	7. A less merry Christmas

Harry, from underneath the table listened in to try and figure out when the staff and the minister would leave. He fully expected to laugh about this story when this was all said and done - there were no indications that they'd been spotted under the table.

However, this moment was not one that would be laughed about. After hearing Madam Rosmerta asking why Sirius Black would be in Hogsmeade, Fudge looked around for a moment, before whispering "Harry Potter."

"What's he got to do with Black?" Rosmerta asked.

Fudge, McGonagall, Hagrid and Flitwick all looked grim.

"Where to begin..." Fudge mused grimly.

"Do you remember Black at Hogwarts?" McGonagall asked. Rosmerta nodded.

"Do you remember who his best friend was?" she continued.

"Of course I do! You couldn't find one without the other! Quite the double-act they were, James Potter and Sirius Black!" said Rosmerta.

Harry dropped his empty tankard, and Ron kicked him to remind him that he was supposed to be in Hogwarts at that very moment.

"Precisely. They were ringleaders in their little gang. Exceptionally bright, easily the brightest students of their year, and I don't think we ever had such a pair of troublemakers." said McGonagall.

"There are Fred and George Weasley." said Hagrid, chuckling.

What happened to Black? Harry couldn't fathom what happened. Best friends with his dad... how did he get so badly corrupted that he threw in with Voldemort?

"Well that plays into the true tragedy, quite heavily in fact." said Flitwick.

"Not many people know this, but the Potter family knew that You know who had marked them for death. They went on the run." said Fudge.

"It was pretty much straight after Harry n' John were born." said Hagrid mournfully.

"They went into hiding, and because of the nature of their pursuer, they were forced into using a fidelius charm." said McGonagall.

"And what is that?" Rosmerta asked, looking to Flitwick.

"An immensely powerful and complicated charm. It makes the domain of those the charm is cast upon a true secret. Impossible to find, unless the location is revealed to you by a 'secret keeper'. If that happens, the location of the domain is known to you, but only you and those whom the secret keeper tells." said Flitwick with a practiced, very academic tone.

"And was Black their secret keeper?" Rosmerta asked.

"Naturally. James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would rather die than reveal the secret. Dumbledore was worried, and offered to be the secret keeper himself, but James was insistent, and Lily Potter agreed." said McGonagall.

"Black betrayed them?" Rosmerta said breathlessly.

"He did. He was likely tired of his double agent role. He revealed the Potters' location, and then he acted as an absolute overt supporter of You Know who once he found out that he was bested by none other than little Harry Potter." said Fudge.

"And I met him! Righ' after it happened! I saw him all weak and shakin' in the Potters' house!" said Hagrid, angrily.

"Hagrid, please-"McGonagall tried.

"And you know what I did when I saw the filthy stinkin' turncoat? I comforted the bastard!" Hagrid roared furiously.

"Hagrid! Keep your voice down!" McGonagall said.

Hagrid did so, but he was still grumbling.

"That wasn't the end though. While you brought Harry and his brother to safety, Black immediately started running, but he was tracked down by one of the Potters' friends. Peter Pettigrew." said Fudge.

"I remember him, he never let James or Sirius out of his sight! Something of a groupie I thought." said Rosmerta.

"Yes, but they were truly friends when push came to shove. And once Pettigrew tracked down Black, he confronted him in public." said McGonagall.

"I was working in magical law enforcement at the time. The scene was horrific. Pettigrew cried out 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' and he went for his wand. Black was faster, and..." said Fudge.

"He killed him on the spot?" Rosmerta asked.

Fudge let out a bitter laugh.

"He didn't kill Pettigrew. He destroyed him. He blasted the entire street apart, killing twelve muggles, and left Pettigrew as nothing more than a finger. That was all we could find! And Black... he just stood there and laughed! Laughed like a madman!" said Fudge.

"Is he really _that_ mad?" Rosmerta asked.

"I wish I could say he was, but he's not. His master's downfall left him unhinged for a while, and the murder of all those people were indeed the actions of a desperate and cornered man. But when I visited him in Azkaban over a year back, he seemed so... normal. He asked me for my copy of the daily prophet! Said he wanted to do the crossword!" said Fudge.

"And he's after Harry Potter right now? A follower of You Know Who who retains his mind after over a decade in Azkaban is after a... a kid?" Rosmerta asked.

"Yes, and that isn't the worst of it." said McGonagall.

"What could be worse?" Rosmerta asked.

McGonagall made a disgusted face before answering.

"Sirius Black was... is... Harry Potter's godfather." she said.

They all stayed silent for a moment longer.

"He... he's not trying to rejoin You Know Who, is he?" asked Rosmerta.

"We think he is. That is a terrifying prospect. Alone and friendless, and half dead, he is still a dangerous prospect, but reunited with one as dangerous and effective as Black? I shudder to think how little time it would be before he returns to power." said Fudge.

More grave words regarding Black were exchanged, before they left, and when they did, Ron and Hermione's faces immediately appeared under the table, and Delilah gave them a similar look.

They said nothing. They didn't put a comforting arm on Harry or John's shoulders. There wasn't anything that could be done. It was bad enough that Voldemort killed their parents. But having their closest friend betray them? This was unprecedented. Unacceptable. Earth shattering.

Neither Harry, nor John could clearly remember how they got through the passage to the castle. Delilah watched them like a hawk, but said nothing. She still hadn't figured out what to say or how to say it.

Both Harry and John's minds worked at a hundred miles per hour that evening as they desperately tried and failed to sleep through the night.

Why had no one told them? Dumbledore, Hagrid, McGonagall, Flitwick, probably Snape, and who knows how many others knew the truth? Why could none of them spill the beans? Granted they'd have been upset, like now, but they'd be able to deal with it in a conversation in which things were under control. No, they had to hear it by eavesdropping.

They couldn't sleep until early in the morning in fact. And when they woke up, they found that no one else was in the dorm.

"Where's everyone else?" asked John once he'd woken up.

"They've gone home, it's Christmas, remember?" Ron pointed out.

John just grunted in response, and Harry nodded and got out of bed. After brushing and bathing, they went down the stairs into an empty common room. Empty, save for Hermione, Delilah and Ron, all sat down and facing him.

"Harry, John, we need to talk." said Hermione.

"Alright." said John, suspiciously.

"You don't look well. Neither of you." Delilah said, softly.

"We're fine." John said. He clearly wasn't. Neither was Harry.

"You know, we've got to get to the point. You're definitely upset and furious about what you heard yesterday. But you can't do anything stupid." said Ron.

"Such as?" Harry asked.

"Going after Black." Hermione said sternly.

It was obvious that they'd been rehearsing this conversation.

"He isn't worth getting yourself killed over." said Ron.

"You won't do it... will you?" Delilah asked.

"You know what dementors do to you. But do you know what we hear whenever they get near us?" Harry asked.

They stayed silent.

"Our mum. Pleading with Voldemort to not kill us. And then listening to her screams as Voldemort murders her." Harry said bitterly, his voice laced with sheer hatred.

A single look on John's face told Hermione, Delilah and Ron that he went through the exact same thing.

"If you heard your mum screaming like that, heard her killer laughing as he murders her, and if you knew that it was because she was betrayed-" Harry started.

"There's nothing you can do!" Hermione interrupted.

"Hermione's right, no-one knows exactly where he is, and even if we did, what could either of you do against a wizard who could kill twelve muggles and a wizard with one curse?" Ron asked.

"And you'd be playing into Black's hands!" said Delilah.

"He'll be caught and sent to Azkaban, and he'll be served right there!" said Hermione.

"You heard Fudge." said John, speaking up for the first time.

"Dementors don't affect him like everyone else. Maybe he's-immune or some bullshit but Azkaban clearly isn't working on him." said John.

"So you're going to kill him yourself?" Ron challenged.

"Neither of them want to kill anyone, not even Black... do you?" Hermione asked.

Harry and John stayed silent. They had no idea what they wanted to do, but doing nothing absolutely didn't sight well with them.

"Malfoy knew. He was talking about getting revenge." said Harry.

"You're not telling me you're up for taking Malfoy's advice over ours?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Malfoy's dad must've told him. He was probably in Voldemort's inner circle too." said Harry.

"It doesn't matter!" Ron yelled, before taking a deep breath and calming himself

"Guys... Pettigrew was a grown wizard when he confronted Black. Do you know what Pettigrew's mother got when Black was finished with him? Order of Merlin, First Class and Pettigrew's finger in a box. That was literally all they could find of him." said Ron.

"Please... please be sensible... don't go looking for him! Your parents couldn't possibly want you to take on a mass murderer!" Hermione said.

"Well thanks to him, neither of us know what they'd have wanted." said Harry.

John sighed.

"They're right Harry. Who are we next to someone who knows all sorts of dark magic? Someone who can kill thirteen people at once and laugh about it? Do we even have it in us to kill him? If we confront someone like that, it's kill or be killed. I couldn't bring myself to take a life." John said.

"Maybe you're right. But if he somehow shows up I'm not about to sit on the sidelines." said Harry.

That seemed satisfying enough for the moment for the other three, but it wasn't a full victory per se.

"Look, it's the holidays! Let's just relax, I mean we could visit Hagrid-" Ron started.

"Yeah, lets. I can ask why he didn't tell me how or why my parents really died." said Harry.

Ron shut his mouth. Obviously more discussion about Black wasn't what he had in mind.

"I mean... we could also play exploding snap or-"Hermione started.

"No, let's visit Hagrid." said John, firmly.

In spite of what was now very deep snow combined with blistering winds, the five of them trekked down from the castle to Hagrid's hut. The forest looked like something out of a fairy tale with the trees all covered in silvery-white snow, whilst Hagrid's hut looked like a cake with too much icing.

Ron knocked on the door, to no answer.

"Hagrid?" he asked.

"D'you think he's at the castle or something?" Harry asked.

Ron put his ear to the door.

"There's some kind of noise in there. I think that's Fang." he said.

Harry, who currently had the least patience of any of them marched up to the door as Ron stepped aside, and thumped on the door.

"Hagrid!" he called loudly, before hearing the signature heavy footsteps of the massive man.

Upon opening the door, they could immediately see Hagrid's face having turned red - he was obviously deeply upset.

"Yeh've heard!" Hagrid sobbed, flinging himself and his arms around the youngsters.

Hagrid was well over eleven feet tall, and built like a tank, and likely weighed around four hundred kilgrams, so it took the combined strength of all five of them to lift him back onto his own two feet and haul him back into his hut.

"Hagrid! What happened?" Hermione asked, looking completely shocked.

"It's-" Hagrid started, before sobbing again, pointing to a letter on his table which looked like it was from the Ministry of Magic.

John, looking grim read it aloud and watched his companions' faces change from elation upon hearing that Hagrid wasn't fired, to outrage when it was mentioned that Buckbeak would be sentenced to death if a hearing from the committee for the disposal of dangerous creatures 'proved' buckbeak to be a threat.

Hagrid wailed about how the committee had something of a grudge against 'interesting creatures', and that they were in the pocket of Lucius Malfoy. Normally, people did not see eye to eye with Hagrid about what creatures were interesting and what creatures were outright lethal, but Buckbeak was not dangerous, unless provoked. Hagrid even told the class before anything else how not to provoke a Hippogriff.

Compared to Hagrid's usual standards (Acromantula and dragons) Buckbeak was cute.

"You've got to put up a strong defence Hagrid. That's all that can be done." said Hermione, putting her hand on Hagrid's monstrous shoulder.

The trip to Hagrid's did not lift anyone's mood at all. It did have the desired effect of keeping Harry and John distracted though. They found themselves spending most of the remainder of the day poring over dusty old tomes in the library, looking for relevant information that could potentially save Buckbeak.

"Here's something on a Hippogriff case in 1722... oh wait, they executed it. My God that's disgusting, look what they did to it!" said Hermione upon finding the first Hippogriff case.

"There's this manticore that got off for savaging a man... wait, they couldn't execute it because everyone was too afraid to get near it." said Ron.

"Manticores are classed as XXXXX by the ministry, aren't they?" Delilah asked.

"Yes." said Hermione.

Ron, Harry and John exchanged baffled looks.

Hermione put them out of their misery.

"Creatures that are known wizard killers that can't be trained or domesticated." said Hermione.

"Oh. What are Hippogriffs then?" Harry asked.

"Only XXX. In essence, they can do harm, but aren't any danger to competent wizards." said Delilah.

"Proves Malfoy's just incompetent at... life I suppose." said John, causing the others to laugh but only for a moment.

The rest of the day was spent with Ron and Hermione doing everything in their power to keep Harry and John distracted. Delilah was caught by Antonio Machado, which despite it not being her intention, did a better job of distracting Harry and John far better than Ron's chess games or Hermione's insistence upon them doing some work.

Harry and John (and Ron) had spent more time training with him for the Hogwarts third and fourth year rugby team, and their impression was not that he was a bad person per se, but something about him rubbed them the wrong way. He behaved somewhat similarly to John, but there was definitely something... off about him. Unlike John, he didn't seem genuine.

At least, that was the only way they knew to describe it.

Delilah saw none of that when she was in conversation with him, and Hermione chose not to have an opinion.

Harry, John and Ron left it all well enough alone while it appeared that nothing came of it, but later that evening, at around nine, John caught them in a corridor, and the scene made him not know how to react, with anger, embarrassment or just to ignore it.

Delilah's arms were wrapped around his neck, and his arms were on her waist, and they were clearly enjoying what could only be described as a very long, passionate snog.

The school was currently only inhabited by approximately fifteen students, so clearly they felt safe enough snogging in a random hallway on the fourth floor. John was heading back inside after going for a run in the evening.

"What the-" John said, revealing his presence.

Delilah leapt off Machado and stared at John in shock.

"Potter! We were just err..." Machado said. Obviously John intimidated him based upon the way John played rugby, and despite being a year older than John, probably lost out on almost ten kilograms of muscle to him.

Despite being mortified, Delilah did have a response.

"We... thought everyone was in their house common rooms. You aren't angry are you?" she asked.

John sighed. He had no idea what to think. He wasn't going to begrudge Delilah for snogging a guy when he'd felt up a girl's tits not too long ago. He just didn't know what to think of the guy she was snogging.

"Not angry. I just... don't know what to think." he said, finally.

"Potter, I promise I'm not-" he started. A stern look from John promptly shut him up.

"You're just lucky it wasn't Harry who caught you. You trying to keep this a secret?" John asked.

"Yes! Please don't tell anyone!" Delilah pleaded.

"I won't. You two have to do a better job of hiding. I know you thought we were all inside, but you already know I exercise a lot. I could be out at any time. I've been trying to convince Harry and Ron to join me so..." said John, letting his statement hang in the air.

"We get it. We'll keep it to the Slytherin area then." said Delilah.

"Sounds good. But for fuck's sake don't let Snape catch you." said John.

Machado laughed, but another look from John made him quiet.

"Don't think I'm not keeping an eye on you." he said, seemingly growing right before Machado's eyes.

"For God's sake John-" Delilah started.

"Don't get all shirty with me after the crap you gave me when I started... enjoying myself with girls." said John.

Delilah closed her mouth promptly.

"Now I'm heading back up to the common room. Try not to get pregnant." said John, grinning.

Delilah looked indignant, but Machado looked like he was holding back laughter. John sighed.

"You can laugh." he said, and Machado duly laughed like an idiot.

* * *

John stayed true to his word and kept Delilah's secret when he met up with Harry, Ron and Hermione at the common room. However, the next morning, he and Harry would find yet another surprise after Ron woke them up to see the Christmas present.

They got another Weasley jumper each from Mrs. Weasley. Ron's was maroon, yet again, Harry got a scarlet one, and John got a white one with a blue trim on the shoulders and the bottom of the sleeves, which he essentially fell in love with on the spot

"Damn Mrs. Weasley, thanks!" said John.

The jumpers were not the surprise, however. They saw long, thin packages amidst their piles, packages that were eerily similar to the one containing Harry's old Nimbus 2000 from McGonagall from what seemed like a lifetime ago.

For John it truly was a lifetime ago.

John opened his up first and had to hold himself back from yelling out in shock.

"I don't believe it..." said Harry, upon seeing it.

"That-that can't be..." Ron started.

"Firebolt... Firebolt!" John said.

Harry turned to his pile and tore his open to find exactly the same thing.

Two copies of the most powerful broom in the world... just like that.

"Who sent them? Check for a card...or something!" said Ron.

There was nothing amidst the wrappings.

"Who would send us broomsticks that probably cost as much as a house and not tell us who they were?" John asked.

"Dumbledore? He gave you the cloak without signing his name." said Ron.

"He didn't buy it though. It was my dad's and he just passed it on." said Harry.

Ron nodded.

They bounced around other ideas until Hermione and Delilah entered the room, having much more suspicious reactions.

"They're supposed to be very good brooms, aren't they?" Hermione mused.

"The best in the world." Ron said happily.

"Something just doesn't add up." said Delilah. She and Hermione were clearly thinking along the same lines.

It wasn't on their mind throughout dinner though. Dinner was punctuated by Dumbledore literally drawing a chair out of thin air and wearing a hat almost identical to the one the boggart version of Snape wore when Neville fought the boggart, and Trelawney yet again trying to make death predictions.

However, things began to get far more tense later on in the evening.

Harry and John were planning on taking the firebolts out tomorrow and put them through their paces. This hope was dashed when Professor McGonagall entered the common room with Hermione and Delilah in tow.

"So those are the brooms you've been sent?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes." John said slowly, not understanding what was going on.

"Alright. Hand them over. Between Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick, they will be properly stripped down and checked for all manner of curses and jinxes." said McGonagall.

"What?" Harry asked, aghast.

"Hand over the brooms. I will not ask again." McGonagall said, sternly.

Harry and John slowly and reluctantly handed McGonagall the most incredible brooms they'd ever seen. Once she'd left the room carrying those brooms, Ron, Harry and John rounded on Hermione and Delilah.

"What the hell?" John asked.

"Why did you go running to McGonagall?" Ron asked.

"Because McGonagall and us agree! Those brooms could have been sent to you by Sirius Black!" said Delilah defiantly.

John looked at the pair of them as if they'd completely lost their minds.

"You two are mad! I don't see Black walking into Quality Quidditch supplies with thousands of Galleons in hand when there are posters of him on every street!" said Ron.

"And why... seriously, why in the living fuck-" John started.

"Stop swearing!" yelled Hermione.

John stared at her in disbelief for a moment.

"Why the **_fuck_**. Would Black spend double the money he needed to to kill me too? He wants to kill Harry. What do I have to do with it? What does Black gain by killing me?" John challenged.

"Black doesn't have access to his money. Black doesn't have access to... being out in public. I don't care what your intentions were, this is just plain stupid." said Harry.

Hermione and Delilah looked at each other uneasily. The boys were starting to make a lot of sense.

"No follower of Voldemort would risk any contact with him. The ones who aren't locked away are pretending to be reformed or whatever. Whether they are or aren't, Voldemort is not in power. They won't risk shit unless he's back properly, because they need something to rally behind for their cause. So Black couldn't have gotten any help." said John.

"There's no way you can spin this. Black didn't send those brooms. He literally couldn't have." said Ron.

"But you couldn't know that they weren't jinxed until you rode them!" said Hermione.

"Yeah. That's true for every broom ever made." said Harry.

"Do you know how easy it is to put a jinx on a broom in a store? All you need is a quiet day in a store and you can do it." said Ron.

John was trying his best to not blow Delilah's secret. She had obviously made him extremely angry, and he felt like spilling the beans would get back at her, especially considering that she'd postponed his ownership of the most powerful broom in the world.

He held his tongue however.

"What you're saying is that the brooms should be confiscated because of what we _don't_ know. Here's another thing we don't know. The firebolts when totally untouched are the best brooms ever made. We don't know what state they'll be once they're... what did McGonagall say? _Stripped down?_ " John said.

Hermione and Delilah chose not to answer and simply stalked away in a huff.

"Brilliant. That's just what I needed." said Harry.


	8. The embodiment of happiness

**I decided to take a couple of liberties with the behaviour of patronuses. Mostly for the sake of letting my imagination loose a bit more.**

It could never be argued by any of the boys that Hermione and Delilah did not mean well. They had safety in mind, in an unsafe time. But what bothered all three of them was that they clearly didn't think things through. They also didn't seem to understand what Quidditch meant to them.

Furthermore, it was a pair of firebolts they were talking about. Ron was insistent that the stripping down as McGonagall had put it, was criminal damage, and that there were no two ways about that.

They were all certainly glad when term restarted - as usual, the crowds and the noise distracted them from how angry they were. Wood predictably looked for (and found) Harry and John as soon as he could.

"Good Christmas?" he asked.

"It was alright. Yours?" Harry replied.

"Brilliant actually. But I need to get down to business. Are you doing anything about the dementor problem? I mean you two are probably the best players on the team, but if the dementors keep getting to you..." Wood said, before trailing off.

"Yeah, Lupin's teaching us how to handle them, starting soon." said John confidently.

"Oh that's a relief! And the situation with brooms?" Wood asked.

"We don't have brooms yet." Harry said glumly.

Ron, who was also present piped up.

"They got sent firebolts." he said.

"Fire... firebolts!" Wood replied in shock.

"Don't get your hopes up too much. McGonagall confiscated them. She thinks Sirius Black sent them in an attempt to kill Harry or some crap." said John.

"He's on the run! He can't go to Quality Quidditch supplies to grab firebolts! He probably couldn't even get into Gringotts to get money!" said Wood.

"That's what we said. Apparently somehow there's still a chance it was him." John said, glumly.

"I'm talking to McGonagall about this! Firebolts... really." Wood said, mumbling to himself as he walked away.

Classes also started the next day. Care of magical creatures had improved since the flobberworms - Hagrid appeared to be regaining some confidence. They were caring for salamanders and spent a relatively enjoyable lesson (in spite of it being a raw, below freezing January morning) collecting dry wood and dry leaves to build and maintain a large fire, whilst the tiny creatures scampered across the burning, white-hot logs. Hermione and Delilah were predictably seen taking notes faster than anyone else.

Harry, Ron and John considered asking them what they could possibly be writing so much about, but decided against it - they were supposed to all be angry at each other.

Trelawney spent no time at all to inform Harry about how short his life lines were when they started palmistry, and Divination was as confusing and annoying as ever.

Defence against the dark arts was what everyone really looked forward too. But Harry and John more than the others. They needed to know when their anti-dementor lessons would begin.

"Hmm, let me take a look. Oh yes, how about Thursday at eight o'clock? I know your rugby training should end at about five thirty, at least if John doesn't have you running an extra two hours." Lupin said.

John chuckled before responding.

"I'm afraid you've got me confused with Oliver Wood Professor. Practice time is practice time, and free time is free time." he said jovially.

"But yeah, that sounds good, thanks professor." said Harry.

The two of them rejoined Ron, who seemed unable to take his eyes off Lupin, due to the state he looked to be in.

"He definitely looks ill even now, doesn't he?" Ron asked.

"Haven't you figured out what's wrong with him?" Delilah asked.

"What is it?" John asked, tiredly.

"Come on! It's obvious!" Hermione replied.

"If you don't want to tell us, just don't tell us." Ron snapped.

The pair of them turned around and walked away, moving at a pace which clearly showed their anger.

"They obviously don't know. They're trying to get us talking to them again." said Ron.

* * *

At ten to eight on Thursday, Harry and John came to Lupin's office, not having any idea what to expect.

"Harry, John, you're early. Come in." said Lupin, carrying a large crate.

"What's in that?" John asked.

"That's a boggart. I've been combing the castle since Tuesday, and I found this in Filch's filing cabinet. We're going to use it as a stand-in for a real dementor." Lupin explained.

John was far less apprehensive about the lessons than Harry and was also delighted that Lupin had thought of such a good replacement for a dementor.

"Great, so what are we doing? Also, is it a good idea to punch dementors in the face? You've probably guessed, but I'm no fan of them." said John.

Lupin chuckled for a moment.

"No, I would not recommend punching them. Rotting tissue or not, they are tremendously strong. They have been known to lift grown men into the air with one arm." said Lupin.

"Though I daresay you are already the size of an average grown man." Lupin mused.

He wasn't wrong - the growth John had undergone over the summer hadn't halted by any means.

"Alright. So there's a spell or a series of spells then." said Harry.

"Yes. The one I'm going to teach you is specifically designed to repel dementors. It's known as the patronus charm, have you ever heard of it?" Lupin asked.

"No. How does it work?" Harry asked.

"When conjured correctly, it creates a patronus, which acts as a guardian between the caster and the dementor." said Lupin.

Harry had a fleeting image of a Hagrid-sized figure holding a club, knocking dementors aside like a Quidditch beater.

"This is incredibly advanced magic though. So far beyond the ordinary wizarding level that most qualified adult wizards cannot cast this charm." said Lupin.

John remained unfazed - everything with teachable mechanics was doable with those who had the patience, but Harry looked a little more intimidated by the prospect.

"It is a positive force that embodies what dementors would normally feed upon. Hope, happiness, the will to survive. But unlike humans, the patronus cannot feel anything resembling despair, or anything at all for that matter. Therefore dementors can do no harm to a patronus." Lupin explained.

"What do they look like?" Harry asked.

"They are always unique to the wizard who conjures it." said Lupin.

"Do they mean anything to the wizard conjuring it?" John asked.

"In what regard?" Lupin asked in return.

"What I mean is... say I conjure a patronus right now. Would the form it took tell you a lot about me?" John asked.

Lupin inwardly noted how sharp the two boys were with their line of questioning. So much like James...

"Yes. It would. Almost invariably, the form your patronus takes embodies some of the most important aspects of your person." said Lupin.

John became immediately curious as to what form a patronus would take to embody what made him who he was.

"I daresay that it will be a long time before you conjure a full fledged patronus. Not to worry though, even a patronus that isn't fully formed is more than a match for dementors." said Lupin, making Harry a bit more optimistic.

"How do I make a patronus then?" Harry asked.

"You must think of a happy memory. An extremely powerful happy memory. Focus on nothing but that memory, allow it to fill you up and do everything in your power to almost relive it, before you say the incantation, which is _Expecto Patronum_." Lupin explained.

"Expecto Patronum." John said quietly.

"Now, close your eyes and concentrate for a moment. Harry, I'll let you go first, but only when you have a memory in mind." said Lupin.

Harry and John did so and cast around their collective experiences, trying to think of a suitably important and happy memory that would successfully drive off a dementor.

Harry chose the feeling he got when he first rode a broom. The feeling of actually flying for the first time. Surely that would work?

"I have one." said Harry.

"Try the incantation first." said Lupin.

"Expecto Patronum." said Harry, and something came out of his wand, some sort of silvery, wispy gas. It wasn't big but it was a start.

"Something happened!" Harry said, excitedly.

"Very good." Lupin said, smiling, before turning to John.

John chose the feeling he got upon winning his first Quidditch match. Proving his worth as a chaser, and living up to what McGonagall knew his father could do.

"Got one. Expecto Patronum." said John, and a similar effect was seen coming from his wand.

"Excellent. Shall we try it on our dementor?" Lupin asked.

"Yeah. Let's go." said Harry, focusing on the feeling of flying as hard as he could.

But something interrupted. The sound of his mother's voice screaming. He tried to shake it away. He did not want to hear her again. Or did he? No, he didn't! Not like that. With a wave of his wand, Lupin opened the crate in which the boggart was kept, and the familiar and terrifying form of a dementor erupted from it, floating straight at Harry.

"Expecto patronum!" Harry called. But nothing happened.

"No, not my children!"

"Stand aside girl!"

"Harry? Harry! Come on, up you get." said Lupin, no more than thirty seconds later.

"Good thing that's a boggart, or you'd have been out for quite a while." said John.

"I don't think I should have suggested this, this is so advanced..." Lupin said.

"No, I need to learn this, it's OK." said Harry.

Lupin look unconvinced, but nodded.

"John, your turn." he said.

John allowed his chosen memory, the elation of winning his first Quiddich match to completely fill his mind, so much that when the boggart-dementor reappeared, it barely registered.

"Expecto Patronum!" he called.

"Expecto Patronum!" He shouted louder, but only a pathetic silver wisp came from his wand.

"Lily! Take the kids! Run! It's him! I'll hold him off!"

A shockingly loud blast filled John's ears.

"You will not defy me again!"

"In your dreams!"

"John! John, wake up!" Lupin called.

John sat up abruptly, his eyes darting around the room.

"That was my dad. I heard him." said John.

Lupin made a strange, pained face.

"You heard James?" he asked.

"I did... you didn't know him, did you?" John asked.

"We were friends at school... Listen, I should not have suggested this, this is ridiculously complicated and advanced magic. This is too much-"Lupin started.

"No! I'm not letting those things get to me again. I am not going to listen to my parents being murdered, I will learn this!" John interrupted, his facial expression identical to the one he wore when he used himself as live bait against the basilisk.

"If you're sure..." Lupin said, before allowing Harry to step up again.

"Before we start again, I think you two didn't pick memories that were strong enough. You need to try something stronger." said Lupin.

John immediately knew what his best memory was. He was shocked that he didn't think of it before. It was the first time since he was a small child that he'd even let out so much as a tear, he was so emotional at the time. The time after he died and saw his mother and father in the realm between earth and the afterlife. John felt himself transported back into the embrace of his parents.

That was easily the happiest he'd ever felt. If that couldn't conjure a patronus, then what on earth could?

Harry, meanwhile chose the shock and awe feeling he got when John woke up after dying. Nothing would ever come close to seeing the most important person in his life return after sacrificing his own life.

"I'm ready." said Harry.

"Me too." said John.

"Alright. Harry, if you will?" Lupin said, before releasing the boggart again.

Harry wasted absolutely no time this time.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He bellowed.

He was expecting to hear screaming, laughter and his mother's death, but he didn't. All he could hear was some high pitched sound which resembled static from a radio or television with no signal.

The large silvery shadow that erupted from his wand barely registered, but he knew it was there. The dementor tried to get past it, but couldn't. Then some kind of silvery shockwave burst forth and bounced the dementor back at least six feet, before the dementor flew back, but again, straight into the silver shadowy shield.

"Incredible! Ridikkulus! Lupin cried, sending the boggart back into the crate.

"Harry! That was incredible! Well done!" he said.

Harry's legs felt like Jelly, and he collapsed onto the floor, panting.

"That-that's tiring." he said.

"I wouldn't be surprised, but with practice, it will become far easier." said Lupin.

"I suppose I'm up next then." said John, not knowing what to say about the scene that just unfolded.

Lupin nodded, and again let loose the boggart-dementor.

John drew his wand with alarming speed and bellowed the incantation, same as Harry.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He yelled.

Something different happened this time. The same silvery shadow erupted from his wand, but instead of some kind of shockwave, something very different happened. A disembodied, silver clawed hand-no... paw... struck the dementor, sending it flying backwards, and a roar could be heard, but it sounded like it was coming from quite a distance. And yet... Harry could tell that it was due to John's patronus.

"Ridikkulus!" Lupin called all of a sudden, sending the boggart back to the crate.

"You two would have given even your father a run for his money! That, believe me, is saying something!" said Lupin proudly.

"Can I get another go?" Harry asked, eagerly.

"No, I can't allow you to do that again in good conscience. You've both had enough." Lupin said, before grabbing bars of Honeydukes chocolate.

"Eat all of that, else Madam Pomfrey will hunt me down and mount my head on a wall." Lupin joked, causing both boys to chuckle.

Harry had a sudden thought as he bit into the chocolate.

"Professor, did you know Sirius Black at school? If you knew my dad, you must have met?" Harry asked.

"What gives you that idea?" Lupin asked.

"Nothing really, I just knew that the two of them were friends at school." said Harry.

Lupin paused for a moment.

"I did know him. At least... I thought I did." he said.

Lupin then looked at his watch.

"You'd better head off. It's getting late." Lupin said.

"Sure. Goodnight professor." John said.

As he and Harry headed off towards the common room, nibbling on the chocolate all the way, they didn't speak a word to each other. They knew what the other was thinking. There was something Lupin wasn't telling them. About Black, their father, and certainly about the reason for why Black and their dad went in such wildly different paths after Hogwarts.

But when did it start? Black could be seen laughing alongisde their dad in the wedding photos. Was he planning their demise even then? Was it after their birth? When did it happen, and why? Harry and John were convinced that Remus Lupin knew the answer, but had too much respect for him to pry for answers.

* * *

Time passed slowly, and the freezing January seemed to morph into an even colder February, and with no snow. The weather pracitcally felt like it bit the skin of every student, and thus their overall moods were not great.

Somehow, John seemed to bypass all of it with his escapades with various girls in various parts of the school. He would tell embellished stories of how he and Rachel Meadowes, or Mandy Brocklehurst (depending on which week was in question) decided to push how far they could get without getting caught, apparently snogging without any garments on the top half of their bodies in a broom cupboard right outside the potions classroom, or the transfiguration classroom.

John continued to keep Delilah's secret, though her unwillingness to admit her making a mistake (along with Hermione's) and also to try and make up with the boys was not making it easy. Machado's arrogant smirks after rugby training made it worse - he knew what Machado and Delilah were doing after training.

Harry, meanwhile got word from Wood, who informed him that McGonagall was not ready to give back the firebolts, and said that it may be time to look at new brooms.

"Maybe a Nimbus 2001?" he offered.

"If Malfoy thinks it's good I'm not buying it." Harry said, flatly. He knew that was just him being childish, but still... he did have a firebolt waiting... hopefully.

The anti-dementor lessons were not going well for Harry, and only marginally better for John. Harry felt a great deal of resentment towards John and his annoyingly uncanny ability to lift his own mood at will, along with the moods of those around him. Come to think of it, between him and Ron, he was always jealous of that particular personality trait.

He did take solace in the fact that John's patronus at this stage never got to much more than a large shield, combined with periodic pulses that struck dementors. The occasional claw and roar could be observed, but it didn't amount to anything yet.

His own patronus was just that same silver cloudy shield. Did John have a memory that was just that powerful?

"You're expecting too much of yourselves, you're thirteen years old and what you've already accomplished is quite frankly, extraordinary." Lupin said encouragingly, more to Harry than John.

"I thought a patronus would charge dementors down or something." Harry said, panting after one particularly long session.

"The true, corporeal form of a patronus does do that. But what you've accomplished is more than enough. Should the dementors appear at a match, your patronus can hold them at bay long enough to have you both reach the ground and pause the match." said Lupin.

"And we're not passing out whenever those things get near us." said John, optimistically.

Harry did notice that himself. He'd passed dementors more than once in the past month or so, without fainting.

"But you said that it gets harder when there are loads of them." said Harry.

"I have enough confidence in you now. In fact, the both of you have earned a drink" said Lupin, heading towards a cabinet.

As he looked through the cabinet, he described what he was picking out.

"Something from the three broomsticks. I think you'll like it." said Lupin.

"Butterbeer! That stuff's great!" said Harry, without thinking.

Lupin looked at Harry with an eyebrow raised. John gave Harry a warning look.

"Ron and Hermione brought some back." he said.

Lupin still looked suspicious, but didn't push the topic.

"Let's drink to a Gryffindor victory. Not that I can take sides as a professor." said Lupin, grinning at the two of them.

Harry paused for a moment as he drank from his glass.

"What exactly is under a dementor's hood?" he asked.

Lupin paused, grimacing.

"The people who have seen that are in no condition to tell us." said Lupin.

"They only remove their hoods to use their last, and by far, worst weapon. Known as the dementor's kiss." He continued.

"Something gives me the idea that this wouldn't be as enjoyable as what Rachel and I were doing a few weeks ago." said John.

Lupin nodded.

"They use this when they want to utterly destroy their victim. It is said that once a dementor lowers its hood, they lock their jaws around the mouth of the victim, which means they have something of a mouth, and suck out the soul of whomsoever is unfortunate to be on the receiving end." said Lupin.

Harry spat out some butterbeer, and John choked on some of his for a moment.

"What, they kill you?" Harry asked.

"Oh no. This is much worse. You can function without a soul. Your brain, heart, lungs, all of your biological components will work. But you will have no memory. No sense of self. You will be a shell. Nothing but a body. There is no chance for a recovery, and your soul will forever be lost." said Lupin.

The explanation chilled both Harry and John to the core. They began to try and fathom what having your soul sucked right out of your body would feel like, but couldn't. The soul was abstract... would it even have an appearance?

"It's the fact awaiting Sirius Black. The ministry gave the dementors permission to perform it should they find him." said Lupin.

"He deserves it." Harry said, flatly.

Lupin looked at Harry, wide-eyed.

"Really? Do you think anyone could deserve that?" he asked.

"Yes. For some things." said Harry.

Worried that Harry would give away what they knew, John decided to cover for him.

"Killing thirteen people and laughing about it... I get where you're coming from." said John.

It seemed to work, as Lupin was no longer eyeing Harry suspiciously.

After the lesson, Harry wished he hadn't asked about what was under the fabled dementor's hood. He couldn't stop trying to imagine what it was like, having your soul sucked out through your mouth.

In fact, he walked headlong into Professor McGonagall on his way back upstairs to the common room, with John almost doing the same.

"Potter, do watch where you're going!" she said.

"Sorry!" Harry said immediately.

"You should know that I was looking for you two in the Gryffindor common room. Here they are." said McGonagall, showing them the two firebolts, good as new, and unharmed.

"We can have them back? Seriously?" John asked, wide mouthed and openly staring.

"Seriously. I daresay you'll need to get accustomed to them before the match against Ravenclaw, which I sincerely hope you will win. Professor Snape was kind enough to remind me that this would be the eighth year running where we lose our chances prematurely." said McGonagall.

"Oh, they won't stand a chance." John said, grinning like he'd just stumbled across an island inhabited exclusively by beautiful women.

The excitement they felt was mirrored by everyone in the common room who they showed the brooms too. Many people were asking for a go on the brooms, some were asking about the specs of the broom, and Ron of course, wanted to be the first to see the brooms in action.

"You know, we should make up with Hermione and Delilah. They were wrong, but they were only trying to help." said Ron, who was in a far better mood overall, just like Harry and John.

They duly did exactly as they said they would, with Harry and John immediately becoming concerned with Hermione's workload as Ron took the firebolts to their dorm.

"Hermione, this is too much. It's starting to get worrying." said Harry.

"Just drop some of them." said John.

"I couldn't! They're all too useful, or interesting!" Hermione insisted.

"Arithmancy looks nasty." Harry said, upon examining her open arithmancy textbook.

"It's wonderful! It's my favourite subject, it's-"Hermione began, but before she could finish, a loud, furious scream came from the boy's dorm. It was Ron, who marched down the stairs, dragging his bedsheet for whatever reason.

"So Hermione. Scabbers is missing. There is blood on my bedsheet. Do you know what else I found on my bedsheet?" he seethed, looking at Hermione with absolute fury.

"N-no." Hermione said, in a small voice.

Ron threw down several long, ginger cat hairs.

John sighed.

"Never a dull moment, is there?" He mumbled to Delilah.

"You should be taking this more seriously." Delilah said sternly.

"I kept telling you! Your bloody cat kept trying to eat Scabbers! Now look!" Ron yelled.

Hermione seemed to recover her normal defiance, and stood up to look Ron in he eye.

"You have no proof that Crookshanks ate Scabbers! Those hairs could have been there at any time!" Hermione said. Ron looked ready to explode.

John facepalmed. Hermione wasn't having the best string of logic lately.

"We do clean our dorm room, you know. We'd have cleaned out those cat hairs if we found them on our bed." John said.

"But all you have is a missing rat, there's no way of proving that he was eaten!" Hermione replied indignantly.

"Can you hear yourself?" Ron roared.

"Ron, calm down for a minute? Thanks." said John, before he turned to Hermione.

"There is _blood_ on his bedsheet. Scabbers is missing. Crookshanks' hair was also on his bedsheet. Harry, Delilah, back us up here." John said.

"Hermione... you can't deny that this looks very damning." said Delilah.

"At least accept it." said Harry.

"I-I- I can't believe you! Ganging up on me like this!" Hermione said. Her eyes were starting to fill up with tears.

John's assessment was that clearly the combined stress of her workload, not having the boys talking to her, whilst Delilah was doing whatever she did with Machado, leaving her alone to do all that work was getting to her, and now this thing with Scabbers and Crookshanks was making it all far worse. That didn't even take into account the stress she'd have felt with the situation with Sirius Black and Harry.

Hermione was being unreasonable, but he realized that she was quite emotionally unstable at this point. His brush with death last year made him acutely aware of why they couldn't spend any time in their collective friendship at each others' throats. It was just a sad waste of precious time.

"She's right there. Let me just talk to her. Ron, you need to calm down before you and Hermione sort this out." said John.

"Fine." Ron relented upon seeing the tears in Hermione's eyes, but he didn't look any more pleased.

Harry, Ron and Delilah walked off to Fred, George and Ginny, no doubt in an attempt to comfort Ron.

John sighed.

"Hermione, listen. You've got to stay unbiased here. Yeah, you could argue that Ron's biased, but can you honestly say that Crookshanks' hair on Ron's bedsheet, combined with blood and a missing Scabbers makes for an innocent picture?" John asked.

"N-no. I suppose it doesn't." she admitted.

"But that's not the only reason for you being so upset, is it?" John asked gently.

"I don't know what you're getting at." Hermione insisted.

"You're stressed Hermione. We can all literally see it. Believe me, I'm really sorry I didn't talk to you about it earlier, but I am now. You're trying to do too much." John said.

Hermione stayed silent and didn't look John in the eye.

"And combined with the fact that you haven't had anyone to talk to, and you've been doing more for Buckbeak's case than the rest of us combined... Holy shit... Hermione I'm so sorry!" said John, realizing the extent of Hermione's workload and the lack of support she'd been receiving.

Hermione tried her best to keep a stone cold face, but realized that she was choking up. Finally, after a month, she had someone to talk to and open up to. But opening up wasn't what she did next. She burst into tears.

John sat by her, awkwardly trying to pat her on the back. Hermione grabbed onto John and hugged him, continuing to sob into his chest. Despite holding her gently and in what he hoped was a comforting manner, John looked rather terrified, and looked towards the table where the others were.

He mouthed _'help!'_ to them, and without any further delay, Harry, Ron and Delilah rushed back to the table, whilst Ginny, Fred and George looked on, not knowing what was going on.

"Hermione, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lashed out like that!" Ron said immediately.

"I mean... Scabbers was old, and maybe it was better that he went out quickly?" he continued desperately, trying to play off his grief for Hermione's sake.

"I-I'm sorry Ron! I should have just admitted it!" she cried through her sobs.

"Shit... we really did a number on you, didn't we?" Harry mumbled, the guilt evident in his voice.

John thought back to Hermione's reaction when he first offered her his friendship. Before then she'd never even had one. It couldn't have been easy, and with the way they'd been ignoring her lately...

"I was wrong though! I'm sorry!" she said, her voice muffled by John's sweater.

"Yeah, but we were too." Harry said, firmly.

"I think I owe you all an explanation as to where I've been too." said Delilah.

Ron and Harry raised an eyebrow, and Hermione's sobbing slowed to a halt as she turned to face Delilah.

"I might... have a boyfriend." she said.

"What the-" Harry started.

"It's Antonio Machado. That's why I haven't been there to talk to you Hermione. I'm sorry too." she said.

Ron and Harry didn't know what to think, but if she'd been with Machado for at least a month, then clearly there wasn't a whole lot to worry about.

"You don't have to-"Hermione said tearfully.

"Yes, I do. I was your friend long before I was Antionio's girlfriend." Delilah said firmly.

"Look, shall we all just... forget that all this bullshit ever happened?" John asked.

"Err... yeah, that... that makes a lot more sense." said Ron, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Let's not act like five absolute dickheads again, OK?" John asked, smirking at the group of people he felt like he knew a little too well, whilst referring to how every single one of them was at least partially in the wrong.

"Agreed." Harry said, chuckling.

"You're the best! All of you!" Hermione said, struggling to not start crying again.

"And Ron, I really am sorry about Scabbers." she added.

"It's alright. I mean... your arsehole cat is still just a cat." Ron said.

Hermione smiled. That was about as good as anyone could expect.

"If you're not going to drop any of these subjects, at least let us take over responsibility of the trial." said Harry.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to burden you with rugby and Quidditch and-"Hermione started.

"You're taking like... six hundred subjects Hermione, I think we can handle the trial." said John.

"Well... alright. But if you need me to help, don't hesitate." said Hermione.

Looking at the state Hermione had just been left in, hesitating was the only thing they could think of doing. The fact that she had just been reduced to tears, there were bags under her eyes, and her hair was bushier than ever told enough of a story.

Just then, they heard Sir Cadogan on the other side of the portrait hole on another of his classic tirades. The fat lady was not yet back to her original post.

"I'll check it out." said Harry.

Harry walked outside to find Neville, looking extremely frustrated and somewhat upset.

"I forgot the password again! I wrote them down on a piece of paper, I made him tell me all the passwords he'll use this week because he's always changing them, but I can't find it!" Neville whined.

Harry shook his head fondly, smirking at Neville.

"Oddsboddikins." Harry said, allowing Neville into the common room.

"He must be hanged! Do not allow him to go unpunished! Attempted entrance without a password! I never!" Sir Cadogan called.

"That guy is annoying. Never thought I'd miss the fat lady and her damn singing." said Ron, causing the others to laugh.

With that, Hermione sighed, feeling content for the first time in over a month. As far as her friends went, everything was back to normal.


	9. Quidditch fever

The look on Hermione's face the previous evening was at the forefront of Harry's mind the next morning, when he vowed to do his absolute best to keep his friendship group as strongly together as he could. She looked absolutely distraught and Harry was grateful that John (at least partially) knew what to do.

He found himself wondering how John could act so immaturely at any given moment, and then turn around to single-handedly fix all of the problems they had been having.

Working on Buckbeak's trial was absolutely not as easy as he wished it was, and Harry was glad for the distraction of Quidditch practice. He was particularly excited to test out the power and speed of the firebolt. Wood had a few words for Harry before practice started.

"Listen Harry, I've found out who Ravenclaw are playing at seeker. It's Cho Chang, she's in the year above you, and she's good. Actually, she's really good. She's had problems with injuries, but she's fit and firing right now." said Wood.

"On the other hand, she rides a comet two-sixty. That's going to look like a joke next to the firebolt." He added brightly.

"Don't forget Harry, Cho is distractingly attractive. Don't get caught oggling her!" John called, flying past him and Wood at breakneck speed. Clearly, he was deeply enjoying the firebolt.

Harry was wondering whether John was just joking, or if Cho really was that attractive. If anyone there knew, it would be John, who would randomly be seen in the Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff common rooms, most likely to snog girls in those houses.

"No, I haven't snogged her." John added, doing another fly-by, as if reading Harry's mind.

Soon though, it was time for Harry to mount his broom and start his own practice, and the firebolt handled like a dream. It felt like the broom was responding to his thoughts rather than his grip, and it moved so fast that the entire Quidditch pitch looked like a blur.

Wood released the snitch more than once, and every single time, Harry caught it within seconds of setting after it. The firebolt made the snitch itself absolutely no challenge. Granted, with competition from another seeker, it would not be quite as easy, but the snitch itself Harry realized, would never be a problem again.

Inspired by the firebolt's impressive performances, the team was executing all of their moves flawlessly, and it amounted to the team's best ever practice.

"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow! Unless... Harry, John, you've sorted out the dementor problem, right?" Wood asked.

"Yeah, we have." said John. Harry wasn't too sure - his patronus, and John's, although to a lesser extent, was rather feeble.

"Dumbledore's going to go ballistic if even one dementor shows up. We'll be fine." said George.

"Let's hope so. John was saying that you need a lot of focus to deal with dementors and that'll take them out of the match." said Wood.

"We'll be fine." said Harry. Though he didn't entirely believe it. He'd never cast a patronus on a real dementor.

"Well, let's head back to the tower. Turn in early." said Wood.

"We're staying out for a bit. Ron wanted a go on the firebolt, and I'm going to try and convince Hermione and Delilah to do the same." said Harry, as the team headed inside while Ron, Hermione and Delilah, who came to watch headed down to Join them.

"Those brooms are incredible!" Hermione said, brightly, while Harry handed his to Ron.

"You should have a go." said John, holding his out to her.

"You've seen me fly John." Hermione said with no small amount of uncertainty.

"Yeah I know. It's a whole lot of jerky movements, screaming, coupled with occasional bouts of falling whilst only three feet in the air." John teased.

Hermione blushed, but didn't bother to deny it.

"This thing handles really well though." He added.

"I'd rather not." Hermione said, flatly.

"Suit yourself. Delilah?" John asked.

"Over my dead body!" she said.

John rolled his eyes, whilst Ron zoomed off into the increasingly dark sky.

"What position does Ron say he prefers?" Hermione asked.

"Keeper." Harry said.

"He should try out next year." Hermione mused.

"He probably will. He'll need a better broom though. His broom... well I don't really want to talk about it." said John.

"Why? Is it that bad?" Delilah asked.

"Let me just say this. I played Quidditch with him last year. He's a good flyer, and he knows how Quidditch works. But his broom got outstripped by the occasional housefly." said John.

"He's not as good as Wood, but he's definitely not bad at all." said Harry.

"You know what? I might buy him a broom for his birthday." John mused. Ron's birthday was coming within two weeks.

"I wish we could afford to buy him a firebolt just like that but I looked at Wood's broomstick catalogue. We have about four thousand galleons in our Vault, and Firebolts cost about a thousand." said Harry.

"Holy shit... who the hell bought us two of them?" John wondered.

"I've been wondering that. I read about your family history before first year, and even though you two are the last Potters alive, your family collectively has enough gold to buy them. The only other two families that have any affiliation to you which are richer are the Blacks and Malfoys, and let's face it. The Malfoys and Blacks aren't about to buy you racing brooms." said Hermione.

"Well... where's the rest of our money then?" Harry asked curiously.

"You're probably going to inherit it when you turn seventeen." Hermione said.

"That makes sense I suppose. But still... I really want to know who would spend two thousand galleons just like that." said John.

"We'll figure it out eventually. As for a broom, what could we realistically get Ron?" Harry asked.

"Madam Hooch was talking about the silver arrow. Maybe the people or company who made that broom made something more up to date?" Delilah offered.

"Yeah actually! They made this thing called the golden arrow!" Harry said, thinking back to the broomstick catalogue.

"Imaginative." Hermione quipped.

"Name recognition. That's just part of economy." Delilah said.

"Anyway, I was reading about the golden arrow, and it looks like it works in a way just like the firebolt. Only... it's not anywhere near as fast." said Harry.

"Harry, even the Nimbus 2001 doesn't come close to these babies. These things go over a hundred and fifty miles per hour if you can handle it, Nimbus 2001s only do about a hundred. Nimbus 2000s could only do ninety." said John.

They could hear yells of joy from Ron above them.

"Yeah... we're buying him a decent broom." said Harry.

"How fast does the golden arrow go then?" John asked.

"Eighty or so. About half of what the firebolt can do, but still better than Cleansweeps and Comets." said Harry.

"Enough to compete with Nimbus 2001s and outstrip the brooms other students will have." said John thoughtfully.

"It costs about two hundred galleons. That could do." said Harry.

"Keep it a secret though. I really want to see the look on Ron's face." said John, who luckily said so moments before Ron landed.

"Ravenclaw don't stand a chance!" Ron said immediately, before handing Harry back his broom.

By this time, the sky had grown dark, and the five of them couldn't help but feel slightly paranoid, as if there were eyes on them.

Harry looked to a nearby cluster of trees that lead into the forbidden forest, and heard rustling, and saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes, and stopped dead in his tracks. The others noticed immediately, and Ron pulled his wand out.

"Lumos." he said, illuminating the area.

The only thing that could be seen was a familiar orange cat.

"Crookshanks! Come here! What are you doing out here?" Hermione asked, as the cat leapt into her arms.

Harry narrowed his eyes. The pair of eyes he saw didn't belong to Crookshanks, and they were far bigger than what could be seen on a pet cat, even one of Crookshanks' size. They looked uncomfortably familiar too... could it be...

No. Harry shook the thought from his head. He also chose not to tell anyone, as he didn't want to appear as if he was losing his nerve so close to a Quidditch match.

* * *

All thoughts of the animal near Crookshanks from the night before had been essentially erased from Harry's mind the next morning when he and John walked to breakfast with their firebolts on their shoulders.

Heads turned to gawk at the magnificent broomsticks, and the Slytherin team, even though they weren't playing that day, looked furious.

"Look at his face!" Ron said, laughing and pointing at Draco Malfoy, who looked particularly livid.

Breakfast was positively inhaled by John, who couldn't get out onto the pitch fast enough, and Harry decided not to eat a particularly large breakfast, just enough to energize himself.

As the Gryffindor team walked out onto the pitch, Wood was hammering home the point of not catching the snitch until Gryffindor were comfortably in the lead, making the points difference as important as the win itself.

As soon as he saw the Ravenclaw team, he knew what John was talking about. Cho Chang was beautiful. She stood at about five foot one, she had a very pretty face, and shiny black hair that fell down slightly past her shoulders. He felt his face flushing slightly upon looking at her.

"Told you." John said, elbowing Harry lightly.

Harry glared at John for a moment before mounting his broom, waiting for Madam Hooch to appear. He did know that Cho's small size helped a lot for her position of seeker. The only players that would have had advantages at larger sizes were beaters. Though John did know how to use his size and strength to his advantage as a chaser.

The weather was relatively cool. It wasn't warm or cold, and the sun was shining, making for good Quidditch conditions.

Harry felt his stomach flip upon seeing Cho smile at him. He knew that had nothing to do with pre-match nerves.

Madam Hooch walked out onto the pitch, and Harry could hear Lee Jordan at the microphone, giving the pre-match context.

"The talented Cho Chang returns to the Ravenclaw team today as well. Gryffindor makes no changes to their roster, but the Potter brothers have acquired firebolts. According to Witch Broomstick, they will be the broomstick of choice at the world cup this summer." said Lee.

Madam Hooch soon blew her whistle, and Harry immediately noted how fast his and John's brooms rose into the air compared to the others. His rose a hair faster than John's, no doubt due to John being so much bigger and heavier than him.

"Katie Bell is in posession of the Quaffle, but Davies is bearing down on her, the two seem to be dancing around each other, neither willing to make a move, but out of nowhere, Potter bursts in between them, taking the quaffle! Look at him go! The firebolt is showing its power, and Potter's closing in on the Ravenclaw goal posts, and Potter shoots-Fantastic save! Incredible work there from Carter!" Lee called, as the Ravenclaws erupted into applause.

Harry was surprised - the strength of John's shots made him nigh unplayable for most keepers. He meanwhile, patrolled the pitch, searching for any glint of gold, but couldn't find any. Cho was not making it easy - she kept cutting across his path, somehow predicting his moves almost every time. Cho was a very good flier.

"Show her your acceleration Harry!" John called, zooming past him as he bore down upon the Ravenclaw chasers.

Harry squared up to Cho for a moment, before zooming in the opposite direction as fast as he could. He tried not to laugh, but Wood was right. The firebolt made her broom look like an absolute embarrassment.

It certainly threw Cho off for a moment. In her frustration, she almost flew into one of her chasers, forcing him to abruptly turn away, allowing John to once again, fly out from nowhere and make a lightning-fast play, allowing him to once again steal the Quaffle.

"Potter does it again! The firebolt is making his already formidable thieving skills just too much for Ravenclaw to handle, and he's hurtling towards the posts again-HE SCORES!" Lee called, and the Gryffindors cheered loudly.

A ten point lead was not enough though, and worse still, Cho seemed to have spotted the snitch. Harry had to get her away from it, so he too hurtled towards the snitch, but he did what Cho did to him earlier once he caught up to her. He cut across her path time after time, and sure enough, the snitch was lost to both of them.

To his delight, Lee made more comments on Gryffindor success.

"Potter's beaten both of them and passes to Johnson! Johnson scores!" Lee said.

Harry knew that a twenty point lead was enough to hunt the snitch, and with that in mind, he recommenced his search for the snitch. As soon as he spotted the snitch, hovering around barely above the ground, he rocketed towards it, following it as it flew upwards as well. Cho suddenly flew out of nowhere, blocking his path, and Harry swerved, narrowly avoiding her.

"Harry! This is not time to be a gentleman! Knock her off her broom if you have to!" Wood bellowed, in spite of the crowd cheering while John scored again.

Harry resumed his hunt for the snitch, but for some reason, Cho didn't tail him.

"Oh!" She called, looking at the ground. Harry too looked down at the ground, and his heart leapt into his mouth, but he didn't think. He pulled out his wand, and was vaguely aware that John was doing the same after passing the quaffle backwards to Wood, and both of them pointed their wands downwards. There were two dementors down there, looking up at them.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry and John roared in unison.

Neither Harry nor John turned to watch the patronuses. Their minds were completely clear as the silver bursts of energy hurtled at the ground.

Harry found himself holding the snitch no less than twenty seconds later, and the whistle blew, heralding Gryffindor's victory.

Amidst the yells of praise, Harry heard Lupin coming with the most important words of praise yet.

"Those were rather impressive patronuses." he said.

"Professor! I didn't feel anything, it felt so easy!" Harry said.

"That's because they err... weren't in fact, dementors. Come and see." said Lupin, leading Harry and John to the centre of the pitch.

"You gave Mr. Malfoy quite a fright." he added.

Sure enough, on the ground was Draco Malfoy, along with Crabbe, Goyle and Marcus Flint, all struggling to get out of massive sets of black, ripped robes. Apparently, they were on top of each others' shoulders to imitate the size of a dementor. McGonagall was livid.

"A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage Gryffindor's seeker and chaser! Fifty points from Slytherin, and detention for all of you! I will be speaking to Professor Dumbledore and Snape about this, make no mistake! Ah, here they come now." said McGonagall.

If anything could have made Gryffindor's victory any sweeter, it was Ron, who doubled over and fell to the ground in laughter at Malfoy and Goyle, who had gotten themselves completely stuck inside the massive black robes.

"Come on! Party in the common room!" said George, clapping the Potter brothers on the back.

The party in the common room was particularly loud, and Fred and George had brought some butterbeer, Honeydukes sweets, and Pumpkin fizz.

"How did you get those?" Angelina squealed.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs gave us a hand." Fred whispered to Harry, who grinned.

Harry and John were for the most part, the centre of attention at the party, so it was difficult for them to talk to Ron, Hermione and Delilah, who they really wanted to celebrate with. Yet in spite of the party, Harry was shocked to see Hermione with her head in an open muggle studies textbook. He fought his way through the crowd to her.

"Hermione... what are you doing?" he asked.

"Harry, I'm sorry, I would celebrate if I could, but I need to read this before next weekend, and I already have a lot of other things to do-" she started, but she was interrupted by John snatching the book from her hands.

"John!" she cried indignantly.

"You're working too hard Hermione. Come on, drink, eat, mingle!" he insisted.

Harry snorted at John's use of the word 'mingle'. It just felt... outdated.

"Give me my book back." she insisted.

Harry and John looked at each other incredulously.

"Hermione... you're muggle born. This book is about muggle social life in Britain." John replied.

"But it's from a wizard's perspective! It's so-"Hermione started.

"Fascinating? Yeah, we heard. But what would you rather do? Enjoy a party or read a bloody book?" Harry replied.

Hermione sighed.

"Alright. Give me the book back, I'll finish the page I'm on, then I'll join everyone else. Is that good enough?" she asked.

John looked to Harry, who nodded.

"Fine. Here." said John, who handed Hermione the book and disappeared into the crowd. Harry then found Ron and Delilah talking to Neville, who looked extremely embarrassed.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"Neville still can't find those passwords." said Ron.

"Shit... Where have you looked?" Harry asked.

"All over the Gryffindor area! Tom to bottom, and I can't find it!" Neville cried.

"Neville, you know, you might have to face the facts that you've lost it outside the common room. You'll probably never find them." said Delilah.

"McGongall's going to be furious." Neville said miserably.

"If she finds out. But she doesn't need to know, does she?" Harry asked.

"Not from me, that's certain." said Delilah.

"Same." said Ron.

Before any further comments could be made, a very loud 'Ooooh!' came from the crowd in the centre of the common room. Harry looked to see a group of people circling something going on in the centre. Fred and George were cheering particularly loudly at whatever it was.

Harry fought his way through the crowd, to the front of the circle and he immediately regretted that decision.

It was John, now literally and figuratively at the centre of attention. He had quite literally, swept Katie Bell off her feet and was now in the process of snogging her senseless.

"Ughh! My eyes!" Ron cried when he saw the scene unfolding, causing most of the present company to burst out laughing. Harry agreed wholeheartedly with Ron's sentiments.

When John and Katie broke apart, Katie's expression showed that her current mood was a mixture of being flattered, shocked, and deliriously happy. John simply had the trademark arrogant smirk on his face. Harry found himself wondering how long Katie had fancied John for, and more confusingly, how long John had fancied Katie for.

"Alright! Let's give the happy couple a bit of privacy!" Fred called, and the crowd around the pair began to disperse and talked among themselves animatedly again.

"H-how did you know?" Katie asked, still looking shell-shocked once John put her down.

John's grin broadened further. Katie didn't think that was possible

"I didn't." he replied.

"You mean... you..." Katie said.

"Yep." said John.

Katie's eyes widened, before she grinned and wrapped her arms around John's neck and pulled his face back down towards hers to kiss him again.

"Well... he certainly knows how to steal the show." said Hermione, who had apparently finished the page of the book she was reading.

"There's an understatement if I ever heard one. D'you think John fancies her? Like... properly, instead of like the other girls he's done who knows what with." Harry asked.

"Given the overt display of... I want to say 'affection' that John just gave, I think he might have. He was never so public with the others." Hermione commented.

"So I guess I'm supposed to be happy for him? Though watching that-" Harry said, pointing to John and Katie, who had now relegated themselves to a corner, where they continued to snog passionately.

"Makes me want to vomit." finished Harry.

"Well I'm happy he's temporarily given up being ridiculously shallow." said Hermione.

"I suppose that's all I can expect." Harry mused.

"Let's not fixate on John now though. There's still a party going on." Hermione reminded Harry, smiling.

The party continued long into the night - it was one in the morning when Professor McGonagall arrived in her dressing gown to tell the students to pack up and go to bed.

"So... I'll see you tomorrow?" Katie asked John, with whom she had spent almost all of the party.

"You think after that, I'm about to spend time with anyone else?" John asked incredulously.

Katie smiled and kissed John on the cheek before heading up to the girls' dormitory, with John's eyes following her as she disappeared behind the stone walls.

"So... Katie Bell tamed the lion. Katie the lion-tamer..." said Ron, once John arrived in their dorm room. The other boys chuckled.

"What can I say? She's different." said John with a goofy smile on his face.

"Well we have to say that we never expected to see one girl having you all to herself. You realize that this means no more random broom cupboard escapades, right?" Harry asked.

"I really don't care... I mean, have you _seen_ Katie?" John asked.

He wasn't wrong - anyone with eyes could have seen that Katie Bell was extremely attractive. Shiny, long, thick brown hair, big blue eyes, slender, and friendly, she was the object of many boys' affections, especially the current fourth years.

To Harry though, the one thing he and the others in the Gryffindor Quidditch team always noted was just how friendly she was. He hoped that John didn't lose sight of how nice a person Katie was and just act like a lustful beast. Not that he could be blamed if he did; he was after all, a teenage boy. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised if Katie acted the same way in return, given how she was looking at John that night.

Shaking those thoughts out of his head and allowing himself to relive the glorious feeling of victory that he got upon beating Ravenclaw, Harry drifted off to a peaceful sleep. He did have a particularly bizarre dream though. He found himself in some sort of forest. It was nowhere near as foreboding as the forbidden forest of Hogwarts though. It seemed to glow in spite of the low light. The shrubbery and mushrooms on the floor were responsible - they were blue and green, giving off a beautiful luminescent glow.

He felt like he was in some lost fairytale land. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something, but he was unsure of what it was. He walked towards it, to see something silver and glowing, in the same way that the plants and fungi on the forest floor were glowing. It was some sort of animal. He followed it, but never managed to see the whole body and identify it. Eventually, he found himself breaking into a run, and as soon as he did so, he heard the clattering of hooves on the ground, but he never caught up with it or found out what it was. He was awoken by loud, terrified screams from Ron.

"AAARGH! NO!" Ron screamed.

Harry was immediately disoriented by the pitch black room, and heard shuffling and speech on the other side of the room.

"What's going on?" Seamus asked, clearly as confused as Harry.

"Sirius Black! STANDING OVER ME WITH A KNIFE!" Ron yelled.

Harry put on his glasses and saw Ron's curtain torn. His eyes widened, and the boys all sprinted down the staircase into the common room.

It was empty, but lit. Doors began opening behind them, and sleepy voices followed.

"What are you doing?"

"What's going on?"

Some people from both ends of the dorms began coming down.

"You sure you weren't dreaming?"

"I'm telling you, it was him!" Ron insisted.

"Everyone, back upstairs!" came the voice of Percy, who had just come down.

"Perce... Sirius Black was in our dorm! With a knife!" Ron said faintly.

"Don't be ridiculous Ron. Listen, you just had too much to eat... had a nightmare." Percy reasoned.

"What is the meaning of this!"

Professor McGonagall had returned.

"I told you all to go to bed! Percy, I expected better of you!" she said, looking furious.

"I assure you Professor this wasn't my idea, I was telling them all to go back to bed! Ron's just had a nightmare-"Percy started.

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE! SIRIUS BLACK WAS ON MY BED WITH A KNIFE!" Ron bellowed.

"Ronald, you're being ridiculous. How could he have got through the portrait hole?" McGonagall asked.

"Ask him! He must know!" Ron said, pointing at the back of Sir Cadogan's portrait.

McGonagall clearly didn't see the harm, and walked towards the portrait hole, as the occupants of the common room waited with bated breath.

"Sir Cadogan, did you let a man into the common room recently?" she asked.

"Yes my lady!" said Sir Cadogan.

McGonagall (and half of the students present) went white.

"But... the password!" McGonagall stuttered.

"He had them my lady! Had the whole week's passwords! Read them of a piece of paper!" said Cadogan.

McGonagall walked back into the common room, closing the portrait hole behind her. She was livid.

"Which person. Which utterly imbecilic person... wrote down this week's passwords... and proceeded to leave them lying around?" McGonagall seethed. Her voice was shaking with the fury she was holding back.

A few terrified squeaks could be heard, but aside from that, there was utter silence. Neville slowly raised a shaking hand into the air.


	10. Hogsmeade exposure

McGonagall's fury resulted in Neville being banned from Hogsmeade visits for the rest of the year, coupled with the fact that he had to wait outside the common room for someone else to let him in, regardless of whether he remembered the password, also for the rest of the year.

Ron, meanwhile, became an instant celebrity, and told anyone who asked about it, what happened to him that night. John caught him snogging Lisa Turpin later on that day whilst looking for him with the marauders' map, but decided not to tell Hermione or Delilah to avoid their disapproval. John of course found it hilarious.

Something that bugged Ron, which also bugged his friends was that Black was in a room with sleeping, unarmed boys, and didn't kill anyone. He had no issue blasting away twelve muggles to get Pettigrew, and yet none of the Gryffindor third year boys were dead. Black left them alive on purpose. Why?

Something that was noticed very soon though, was a great deal of increased security. Flitwick had charmed the front doors leading to the entrance hall to recognize and block Sirius Black based off a picture he was carrying. Security trolls made a return, and they would roam in twos, communicating in grunts and comparing club sizes. Sir Cadogan was replaced by the fat lady, who insisted upon extra security after her experience with Black.

Finally, aurors would search the castle from time to time. They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but Harry immediately noticed that every single auror was very physically fit, and looked extremely alert, even when they weren't actually searching.

Ron explained to the others that aurors were in essence, dark wizard catchers. A muggle equivalent would be somewhere in between police officers and spies, and for the first time in his life, John knew what he wanted to be when he grew up.

The security was so tight then, that when John visited Hagrid to drop off documents that he, Ron, Delilah and John had found for Buckbeak's case, he had to be escorted by an auror trainee. The trainee was quite young, no older than twenty or twenty-one, and she had bright pink, spiky hair which John assumed was dyed, and a heart-shaped face.

"Nymphadora Tonks. Nice to meet you. But please, for everything that I hold dear, call me Tonks." she said, holding her hand out for John to shake, which he did.

"John Potter, and likewise." said John.

"Potter... as in Harry Potter? Your brother?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's him." said John.

"Cool! So, Dawlish was saying that I'm supposed to escort you to Professor Hagrid's?" she asked. John noted that she used the word 'professor' with a hint of pride.

"Yeah, that's where I'm headed." said John, as the pair of them set off.

"I haven't spoken to him in a really long time, how's he been?" Tonks asked.

"Err... not so great recently." John said.

"Why, what's happened?" asked Tonks.

"Well he was sent to Azkaban for something he didn't do last year for like... two weeks. And now his hippogriff is facing a trial for... acting like a hippogriff." John explained.

"Oh no! What happened?" Tonks asked, looking slightly upset. It seemed as though she knew Hagrid when she was at school.

"Well this idiot student decided to insult him, even though the first thing Hagrid told us was that you can't insult a hippogriff. So he broke his arm." said John.

"Blimey... is that trial what you've got all those papers for?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah. We're hoping it'll help out for the trial, but no promises." said John.

"Well it's good to see Hagrid has good friends in the school still." said Tonks.

"Did you know him then?" John asked.

"Yeah. He was always really nice to me. I always wanted to be an auror, but I'm so clumsy that everyone kept telling me that I'd never make it. Hagrid was the first person to tell me that I'd make it, and sure enough, here I am, in the last phase of training." said Tonks brightly.

"Sounds like Hagrid." John said, fondly.

"I do wish that I was meeting you in a less tense time though. No one knows where Sirius Black went?" Tonks asked.

"No. No leads, no witnesses, nothing like that. My friend freaked out when he saw him, but Black pretty much just vanished." said John.

Tonks appeared very pensive and far less bubbly all of a sudden.

"So how do you get to be an auror?" John asked.

"Are you interested in being one?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah. Seems like my kind of thing." said John.

"Well if the stories I've heard about you are true, you'll have no problem." said Tonks.

"What stories would they be?" John asked.

"You, your brother and your friend killing a basilisk comes to mind." said Tonks.

John refrained from grimacing and being consumed in the memory of having his chest crushed by a snake with a dinosaurian head.

"Yeah, but I'm not so sure the aurors accept people based on that." said John.

"No we don't" said Tonks, chuckling.

"You have to basically get high grades at NEWT levels in Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions and most importantly, Defence against the Dark arts." said Tonks.

"I consider myself pretty good at those, maybe not so much in potions, but are any of those optional?" John asked.

"Well Potions and Defence against the Dark arts are essential. I'd say that you need to have good NEWT grades in two of the other three at least, but all three would be perfect. Not necessary though." said Tonks, thoughtfully.

"I only got an Acceptable in NEWT Herbology for example." she added.

"Hmm... so what about OWLs?" John asked.

"Well to even take those subjects at NEWT level, you need to have good enough OWL grades for your professors to take you on for NEWT classes." said Tonks.

"OK, that makes sense." said John, as he and Tonks stopped outside Hagrid's hut. Tonks knocked on the door, and Hagrid answered.

"Tonks! It's been a ruddy long time!" said Hagrid.

"It has! It's great to see you!" said Tonks, giving Hagrid a hug.

"Come in you two, I've just made some tea!" said Hagrid.

John felt slightly awkward while Tonks and Hagrid caught up on lost time, and barely contributed anything to the conversation. For the first time he could remember, he felt thoroughly relieved when he left Hagrid's hut, headed for rugby training.

When rugby training was finished, Harry, Ron and John were exhausted, even though John somehow seemed like he was willing to train for another full hour. When they got to the common room, Harry and John were the first to notice a long, thin package at the foot of Ron's bed. They looked at each other. Ron's birthday was tomorrow... they didn't anticipate it arriving early.

They decided to just roll with it.

"Hey Ron? See that?" John asked, pointing at the package.

"Yeah..." Ron said, not knowing whether or not John was playing a prank on him.

"We decided to get your birthday present a bit early." Harry finished.

Ron's eyes widened.

"Open it." said John, who couldn't wait to see the look on his face.

Ron did so with the excitement of a child at Christmas - he could tell it was a broomstick.

"What the-" he said, staring at the golden arrow in shock.

"A bloody golden arrow? You shouldn't have-"Ron said, going slightly pale.

"Ron, come on now. We'd be dead if not for you. Well... I'd stay dead I'd wager. Plus, we hope you'll be encouraged to try out for the Quidditch team, since it's Wood's last year. Consider it an investment into the team." John said, happily.

"How-how." Ron said, unable to grasp that he had just been given an expensive gift. Something he could call his own. It was the first time anyone had ever spent that much money on him in one fell swoop.

"How can you repay us? Just give us some competition at the burrow when we play next! Oh, and get onto the Gryffindor team when Wood's gone." said Harry, grinning broadly. This reaction was worth every knut, and Harry was almost not regretting buying Ron a firebolt of his own.

* * *

On the notice board later that week, the thing most students were excited for was the fact that a Hogsmeade visit was happening that weekend.

"How about it guys? Up for another adventure?" Ron asked.

"Absolutely not. Last time was cutting it too close for my taste." said Delilah.

"Is that a question? Of course I'm going!" said John. Harry agreed wholeheartedly.

"What? You two are mad! After last time? And after what Sirius Black nearly did?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Come on Hermione, he's not showing up in public, in broad daylight." said Ron.

"Well... no, but that's beside the point! Delilah's right, it's not worth the risk!" said Hermione.

"Like I asked last time, are you planning on reporting us?" John challenged, deliberately standing next to Hermione in a way that showed how he dwarfed her.

"N-no." said Hermione.

John grinned at the fact that his little psychological trick had worked, before adding what else he had to say.

"We'd better take the cloak this time." he said.

And so, on the Hogsmeade weekend, Delilah stayed back, and 'mysteriously', Machado did the same. Harry and John waved Ron and Hermione a 'goodbye'.

"See you when you get back!" Harry called, earning a grin from Ron and a frown from a very conflicted Hermione.

Eventually, after gathering the cloak and map, Harry and John met up with Ron and Hermione in Honeydukes, and prodded them in the back.

"Hey, we're here." Harry whispered.

Ron nodded, and he and Hermione took them to the places they hadn't yet seen, such as the post office. Ron pretended to be checking the price for an owl to Egypt, where Bill was working whilst Harry and John took a good look around.

They then visited the ever popular Zonko's joke shop, where Harry and John spent most of the time either dodging students or passing Ron and Hermione gold and instructions for what they wanted to buy.

Hermione looked particularly disapproving upon some of the objects they bought, especially the dungbombs.

After Zonko's, the four of them headed up to the par of Hogsmeade overlooking the Shrieking Shack, said to be the most haunted building in Britain amongst the wizarding community.

"Nearly headless Nick says that there's a really rough bunch of ghosts in there. Fred and George have tried to get in, but all the entrances are sealed." Ron explained.

John had a sudden overwhelming urge to try to climb through the many layers of barbed wire fences, just to say he'd been inside the Shrieking Shack, but knew that he'd probably be sporting enough gashes to bleed out by the time he made it anywhere near the hospital wing at Hogwarts.

Before any of them could remark about the old, crumbling building, and before Harry and John could take the cloak off (it was starting to get hot), Malfoy appeared, along with Crabbe and Goyle, and they were talking about Hagrid apparently.

"I can't wait to hear him blubbering about that beast, and just wait until-Oh, look who it is!" Malfoy said, upon spotting Hermione and Ron.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Ron asked.

Malfoy took a look at the decrepit building in the distance.

"You two shopping for a dream home? A bit grand for you, can you afford it? I heard your family sleep in one room. Is that true?" Malfoy asked mockingly.

Before Ron leapt at Malfoy, John tugged on the back of his shirt.

"We've got this." he whispered.

"And even if you can afford it, I don't think a mudblood like you even deserves a place like that. You belong on the streets! If your superiors even let you live on the streets they use." Malfoy said, while Harry and John crept behind him.

"And you belong in a zoo Malfoy. Now if you'll excuse us-"Hermione began.

"Oh... not very friendly! I think it's time we taught them how to respect their superiors!" Malfoy said to Crabbe and Goyle, who began cracking their knuckles.

Before they could do anything however, John had extracted himself from the cloak, and hidden himself behind some nearby trees. Soon after, he scooped a large chunk of mud and threw it at the back of Malfoy's head, and-

SPLAT!

"Wha-Who's there? Who did that?" Malfoy called out, confused.

Ron and Hermione nearly doubled over with laughter. Harry stepped about twenty feet away from John, and threw another chunk which hit Goyle, with some splashing into Crabbe.

The three of them revolved stupidly on the spot, and Goyle tried to get the mud out of his dull eyes, yelling out profanities all the way.

"Very haunted up here, isn't it?" Ron said, as if he were making an observation about the weather.

"It came from that direction!" Malfoy said, pointing at a spot at least two metres from Harry, who was struggling not to burst out laughing. John was hiding behind the best angle his tree offered as Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle moved around.

Crabbe made a start for Ron and Hermione, since they were the only people he could see, but Harry stuck his foot out to trip him up, but instantly, Harry realized that he made a mistake. He felt a tug on his cloak, and it slid off his face.

Malfoy stared at Harry for a few seconds in shock, before yelling out in fear and confusion, and sprinting off towards the village, with Crabbe and Goyle in tow.

Hermione and Ron stared at Harry for a moment.

"You've got to get back to the castle. Malfoy's probably running to Snape." said Ron.

"I'll sneak back in my own time, just run." said John, predicting what Harry was going to ask about.

Harry rushed through Hogsmeade and through the Honeydukes passage, and out through the one-eyed witch statue's hidden door. Harry deliberately left his cloak there in case he couldn't get to Gryffindor tower, and never before was he so glad about his ability to think on the fly.

He rounded a corner, and sure enough, there stood none other than Severus Snape.

"Potter. Just the man I was looking for. Come with me." said Snape, as Harry's stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch.

Harry followed Snape into his office, and tried to think about cover stories along the way, but each one sounded dumber than the last.

"So." said Snape as they entered his office.

"So..." he repeated, as he sat down at his desk.

"Sit down." said Snape, and Harry did so.

"Mr. Malfoy came to me. With a rather bizarre story." he said.

Harry said nothing and tried to look confused.

"Do you know what he saw in Hogsmeade village?" Snape asked.

"No. Should I?" Harry asked, as convincingly as he could.

"You should. Considering that he saw your head. floating in the air." said Snape.

"What? But... I was in the castle." said Harry.

"But it does beg the question though Potter... what would your head be doing in Hogsmeade? Your head is not allowed there. No part of your body has permission to be in Hogsmeade." said Snape.

"It honestly sounds like Malfoy's halluc-"Harry started.

"Mr. Malfoy is not having hallucinations Potter. If your head was in Hogsmeade, then so was the rest of you." Snape said firmly.

"But I've been in the tower, like I said-"Harry started.

"Can anyone confirm that?" Snape asked.

Harry stayed silent, and Snape's mouth curled into a horrible smile.

"So... from the ministry of magic downwards, everyone has been trying to keep the famous Harry Potter safe from Sirius Black. But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants, when he wants." Snape said.

Harry stayed silent, as he was completely aware that Snape was trying to provoke him into spilling the proverbial beans.

"Turn out your pockets." said Snape.

Harry didn't move a muscle.

"Turn out your pockets, or we will be seeing the headmaster." Snape warned.

Harry had no choice but to do so, revealing a zonko's bag, in which he was carrying everything, including the marauders' map.

"Ron gave that stuff to me." said Harry, trying to keep his cool.

"And you've kept it since the last Hogsmeade visit. How touching. And pray, tell me... what is this?" Snape asked, pulling out the map.

"Bit of parchment." said Harry, shrugging.

"But surely you don't need such an old piece of parchment? Why don't I just... throw this away?" Snape said, moving his hand towards his fireplace.

"No!" Harry suddenly said.

"Very interesting... Another gift from Weasley? Or a letter written in invisible ink? Perhaps even instructions to get into Hogsmeade without passing the demenors?" Snape wondered.

Harry stayed silent, as Snape pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment.

"Reveal your secret." said Snape.

Nothing happened, and Snape tried again.

"Show yourself!" Snape said, louder.

Snape tried once more in response to the fact that once again, nothing happened.

"I, professor Severus Snape, command you to show me your secrets." Snape said.

To Harry's horror, something started to happen. As if an invisible hand was writing upon it, words began to appear. It was eerily similar to Tom Riddle's diary the previous year.

But what was on the map made him want to just make a run for it.

 _Mr. Moony offers his complements to professor Snape, but begs that he keeps his monumental obelisk, otherwise known as his nose, out of other people's business._

Snape's mouth started twitching. This did not bode well...

 _Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony's sentiments. He would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git. On second thought, Mr. Prongs retracts that statement. It is an insult to ugly gits._

 _Mr. Padfoot wishes to convey his astonishment that Severus Snape, someone without two brain cells to rub together, managed to become a professor._

 _Mr. Wormtail would like to wish Professor Snape a pleasant day. And he also begs him to wash his hair... the slimeball._

The situation would have been completely hilarious if it wasn't so serious. Harry waited for the punishment Snape was sure to give.

"We'll see about this." said Snape, striding towards the fireplace. He grabbed some glittery powder, which Harry recognized as floo powder and threw it into the fire.

"Lupin! I want a word!" he said, and moments later, Professor Lupin walked through the fireplace, smiling pleasantly.

"You called?" Lupin asked.

"I did. You see, I have just confiscated this from Potter." said Snape, holding up the map which still held the insults from Moony, Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail.

A very odd, unreadable expression crossed Snape's face.

"This parchment is clearly filled with dark magic, and being your area of expertise, I should very much hope that you investigate it." said Snape.

Lupin glanced at Harry for a split second.

"Dark magic? I'm not so sure Severus, if I were to register my professional opinion, it looks simply like a parchment designed to insult anyone who tries to read it. I suspect it's a zonko product." said Lupin.

Harry was already full of affection for Professor Lupin, but in that moment, it grew exponentially.

"You think so? You don't think Potter acquired it directly from the manufacturers?" Snape asked. Harry didn't have the slightest idea what Snape was talking to, and apparently, neither did Lupin.

"You mean from this Moony character or the others? Harry, do you know any of them?" Lupin asked.

"No." Harry said quickly.

"There. It does seem to be a zonko product, though I will hold on to it to inspect, just for your peace of mind." said Lupin, taking the map.

As if sent by God himself, Ron came bursting into the office.

"I bought Harry that stuff! Got it from Zonko's!" he said, breathing heavily.

"Well that clears that up then!" said Lupin, brightly.

"Harry, Ron, could you come with me?" Lupin added.

They followed Lupin to the entrance hall before he began to speak. He looked... not angry, but disappointed. That made it worse.

"Professor, I-"Harry started.

"I don't want to hear any explanations. Now, I don't know how you could possibly have got your hands on this map, yes I know it's a map. I know it was confiscated by Mr. Filch seventeen years ago." said Lupin.

Harry and Ron looked amazed.

"I am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in. Especially after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle lying around. I can't let you have it back." said Lupin.

Harry was too keen for an explanation to express disappointment or protest.

"Why'd Professor Snape think I got it from the manufacturers though?" Harry asked.

"Because the manufacturers would have wanted to lure you, or anyone for that matter, out of the castle. They'd have found it funny." said Lupin.

"Did you know them?" Ron asked.

"We've met." Lupin said mysteriously, before his face hardened again and he looked at Harry.

"Don't expect me to cover up for you again though. I can't make you take Sirius Black seriously, as much as I wish I could. Furthermore, your father didn't have a healthy respect for rules either, but he, and your mother gave their lives to save yours. After talking to Professor Dumbledore about the events here last year, and to John in private, I know for a fact now that John did the same. How exactly he is alive now is beyond me, but that is irrelevant. Gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks seems to be an exceptionally poor way to repay them, and extremely ungrateful to say the least." Lupin lectured.

Harry felt awful. Every point he made hit home. Even though John was there with them in Hogsmeade, he was right about the sacrifices his family had made for him.

"You will head back to Gryffindor tower immediately. And if you take any detours? I shall know." said Lupin, brandishing the map threateningly.

So... he'd met the makers, he knew it was a map and he even knew how to make it work.

Walking back to Gryffindor tower, Ron tried to take responsibility.

"That was all my fault. I'm the one who persuaded you to come. And after you and John bought me that broom..." Ron said.

Ron stopped abruptly upon hearing John's voice.

"Fuck!" they heard him yell.

They rounded the corner to see Hermione, Delilah and John, all looking at a note as if the note contained news of in impending apocalypse.

"What's happened?" Harry asked urgently.

"Hagrid... he lost the trial."Delilah said softly.

"Yeah, and now, because Malfoy's an incompetent arse, they're going to chop Buckbeak's damn head off." John said bluntly.

"But he's not dangerous!" Ron replied furiously.

"It doesn't matter. Lucius Malfoy has them all bought." Hermione replied, the disgust evident in her voice.

"It's just a fact of life. Some people just have enough money to do what they want." Hermione added.

Ron remained defiant, and thought forwards, to the appeal.

"That doesn't mean we let them."


	11. Defeat and Victory

Hagrid was distraught, and understandably so, but Harry's group couldn't visit him due to the extremely tight security that was currently put upon the castle. They could only talk to him during care of magical creatures lessons, which, in spite of a notable improvement, did nothing to lift Hagrid's mood.

"S'all my fault. My tongue got all tied, and I kept droppin' me notes, forgettin' all those dates yeh looked up! Then Lucius Malfoy got up 'n said his bit 'n the committee did everything he said!" Hagrid explained sadly.

"Don't give up yet! There's still the appeal!" Ron said firmly. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle found it all hilarious.

"S'no good Ron. I jus' have to make sure that Beaky's last days are the best he's ever had." said Hagrid sadly.

"We can't give up Hagrid. It's not over until it's over." said Delilah, trying her best to continue comforting him. Malfoy let out a loud roar of laughter, though he was silenced by a rather terrifying look from John.

Once the lesson was over, Hagrid was escorting the class back up towards the castle, but as soon as he turned around to head back to his cabin, he could be seen wiping his face with an enormous handkerchief.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were listening from just inside the castle, still laughing at Hagrid's expense.

"Look at him blubber!" Malfoy said in between his laughs.

"Have you ever seen something that pathetic? He's meant to be our teacher too! I mean-"Malfoy started. Harry and Ron made furious moves towards Malfoy, but John held them back. John did not expect what happened next, and nor did Harry, Ron or Delilah.

Hermione had marched right up to Malfoy, and with all the strength she had, slapped him as hard as she could across his face. Malfoy staggered for a moment. Crabbe, Goyle, Harry and Ron looked on in shock, and John and Delilah burst out laughing.

"Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic! You're a foul, evil little cockroach and you don't get to call _anyone_ pathetic! You're a waste of skin and air!" Hermione screamed, swinging her hand back again.

Ron caught it before she unloaded on Malfoy, who would no doubt sic Crabbe and Goyle on them, which would in turn leading to John having to beat his rugby teammates senseless. Delilah had stopped laughing and helped Ron pull Hermione back. John was still laughing like an idiot.

"Hermione, come on! He's not worth it!" Ron said, still holding onto Hermione's arm tightly. He was still looking at her as though she had just single-handedly destroyed the world's collective evil.

Malfoy looked to Crabbe and Goyle.

"Come on." he said, and the three of them disappeared off to their next lesson.

"The-the fucking look on his f-face!" John said, his laughter starting to subside.

Hermione turned to Harry and John, the fury still evident on her face.

"You two had better beat him in the Quidditch final! I can't stand it if they win!" she said, her voice still shrill with rage.

"They will, but we're due in charms." said Delilah, looking at Hermione with an odd sort of proud smile on her face. Harry was still shocked, and John was still thoroughly amused.

They were late to charms, during which they were learning cheering charms. Hermione never showed up though, and Ron pointed out that she'd probably used the time-turner to head off to another lesson and forgotten about charms altogether. However, she didn't show up at lunch either, and they began to worry about her.

"You don't think Malfoy did something to her, did you?" Ron asked.

It made sense - Malfoy didn't seem the type to take being slapped like that lying down.

However, they found Hermione later on that very evening, sat at a table in the common room, asleep, with her head in an open arithmancy textbook.

"Alright... this has gone way too bloody far." said Ron upon seeing her.

He and Harry sat at either side of her, and John and Delilah sat opposite her, and Harry prodded her until she woke up.

"W-what?" Hermione asked, lifting her head and looking around the room, clearly rather dazed and confused.

"What time is it? What lesson do we need to get to?" she asked.

"Divination and ancient runes, but not for another twenty minutes. But you forgot to go to charms." said Delilah.

Hermione seemed to wake up properly as soon as the words left Delilah's mouth.

"What? Oh my God, how could I forget?" Hermione wailed.

"Good question, you were with us right until we were outside Flitwick's classroom." said Harry.

"It was Malfoy, I was just thinking about how angry I got and just lost track of things!" Hermione seethed.

"Hermione, stop for a second." John said firmly.

Hermione stopped speaking and looked around at her friends who all had very concerned looks on their faces.

"You're cracking up. Trying to do too much. I mean obviously you're doing too many subjects, but that ti- I mean... necklace of yours is turning sixteen hour days into eighteen hour days." said Ron, stopping himself from saying time-turner out loud.

"I remember Harry asking you if you planned on eating or sleeping this year. I didn't think I'd actually be worrying about whether you're eating or sleeping. Forget charms, you just missed lunch." said John, who seemed unable to grasp the concept of actually skipping a meal.

"I just made a mistake, I'll just go to Professor Flitwick and-"Hermione began.

"No Hermione, you need to slow down. Seriously, you're doing way too much. You just have to drop some subjects." said Ron firmly.

"But I couldn't!" Hermione said, aghast.

"Muggle studies and divination? I think you could. You hate divination and Trelawney, and muggle studies is really not going to teach you anything." Ron reasoned.

"Hermione, there's a reason why adults always talk about a work life and personal life balance. Too much work is unhealthy, and psychologically damaging if it's too unbalanced." said Delilah.

"Do you remember the state you were in a few months ago? You burst into tears and it took us five minutes to calm you down." John said gently.

"And how long will it be before you break down again?" Ron asked, putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure you're doing more schoolwork than the NEWT students." John mused.

Hermione sighed.

"Maybe you're right. I'll just hold on for a few more days and make a more informed decision over what I should drop." said Hermione, finally relenting.

"You should try to make this decision as fast as you can honestly, for health reasons. We're worried about you." said Delilah softly.

"Has it really been that bad?" Hermione asked in a small voice.

"Yeah. I get that working is... not necessarily fun, but rewarding I guess for you, but it's not easy watching you overdo it like this. You know when we didn't see you this afternoon, Ron was worried Malfoy did something to you?" said John.

Hermione looked to Ron questioningly, and Ron nodded.

"I'm so sorry, all of you, I-"Hermione started.

"Hermione you don't have to apologise, we're supposed to look out for each other, you know?" Ron pointed out.

"And we haven't necessarily done the best job for you this year." said Delilah.

"You can't blame yourself, I chose to do these subjects, and it isn't like you haven't been busy either. Delilah you've got a boyfriend to worry about, and now John's in the same boat, and there's rugby and Quidditch, and the patronus too." said Hermione.

"No excuses. We've all been a bit stupid here. Hermione, your decision to take nine million subjects was in a nutshell... pretty fucking dumb." said John. Hermione looked sheepish.

"But we should've done more to help you out, no doubt about that." John finished.

"Well all that aside, let's head to divination. And ancient runes I guess..." Harry said.

Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed up to the divination classroom, to see each table accompanied by a crystal ball, which was unexpected.

"Thought we weren't meant to start on those until next term." Ron mused.

"I'm not about to complain. Every time she looked at my hand she looked like she was about to cry." Harry mumbled as they sat down.

"I have decided to start with our journey into the crystal ball earlier than expected. The fates have informed me that in June you will be tested upon this most critical aspect of understanding the future." Trelawney said in the mistiest, most faraway voice she could use.

"What a prediction! Honestly! Who sets the exam? She does! Bravo!" Hermione whispered. Harry and Ron struggled to hold back their laughter.

It appeared that Trelawney hadn't heard her, and everyone simply stared at the foggy crystal balls, not coming up with much of a prediction to speak of.

"Seen anything?" Harry asked dryly.

"I can foresee a nap. Just hope she doesn't notice." Ron responded. Harry and Hermione snorted but held back the laughter when Trelawney swept past.

"Would anyone like assistance in gazing into the foggy confines of the crystal ball?" Trelawney asked.

"I don't need help anymore. Look at it, I know exactly what's going to happen! There's going to be loads of fog tonight." Ron said.

Harry and Hermione couldn't restrain themselves this time and burst out laughing. Parvati and Lavender looked completely shocked and appalled.

"Now really! Such triviality fogs the truth! There is something here!" said Trelawney, staring directly at Harry, Ron and Hermione's ball.

"A dark shape, moving swiftly... it is the gr-"Trelawney started.

"Oh, not this again! It's getting ridiculous, with this Grim business!" Hermione groaned.

Trelawney turned to Hermione, surveying her with what could only be described as anger. It was very strange to see an angry Trelawney.

"I am sorry to say my dear, that as soon as you set foot in this classroom, I could tell that the inner eye was lost upon you. Never have I seen such a closed mind." Trelawney said.

Hermione stayed silent for a moment, as did the entire class.

"Alright!" she said, finally.

She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Alright. I give up." She said, and without another word, she angrily strode out of the classroom, leaving Harry, Ron and the rest of the class stunned in her wake.

"What the-"Harry started.

"She's having quite a day isn't she?" Ron remarked.

* * *

The Easter holidays soon dawned upon the students, but it was not relaxing in the slightest. They had been swamped with work. Neville seemed almost constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Ron and Delilah had completely taken over responsibility for Buckbeak's appeal, Hermione still had too much work to do, Divination or not, though she had confirmed that she would drop muggle studies at the end of the year. Harry and John's sporting commitments were making things very difficult too. Ron was also on the rugby teams, but John, being the captain of the third and fourth year team for Gryffindor, and now the vice captain at Hogwarts level, was not having an easy time of it. He was tipped as the favourite to become the captain of the Gryffindor third and fourth year teams next year.

Harry meanwhile, all too often found himself being targeted specifically by Wood, who repeatedly hammered home the point of not catching the snitch against Slytherin without being fifty points up first.

"So Harry, you can't catch the snitch until we're fifty up. Only if we're fifty or more up. Did you get that? We would win the match but lose the championship if you don't. Only catch the snitch if-"Wood said.

"I know Oliver! Fifty, fifty, fifty, I get it!" Harry yelled.

Wood looked offended, but upon a look from Angelina, he decided to leave it alone.

Harry often found himself wondering how John and Delilah had any time whatsoever to hang out with Katie and Machado respectively. On occasion he would see Katie and John sitting together in the common room in spite of Ron, Delilah, Hermione and himself all being in the same room. It felt... weird for John to deliberately spend time with someone else, despite how popular he was overall. Delilah had taken to properly introducing Machado, and decided to get him 'in' to their group. Or at least try to. While they didn't feel like Machado was an arse, it still felt slightly awkward whenever he was around. Not for Delilah of course.

One evening, while Harry decided to sit with Katie and John, hoping to talk about Quidditch, but Katie and John were discussing something else.

"I'm still a bit worried about her." John said.

"Who?" Harry asked, sitting down opposite them.

"Hermione. She's still overdoing it. I figured I should get more girls' opinions." said John.

"Well if you want mine, I'd say that Hermione's going about it the right way. She's already dropped divination as you said, and if she's dropping muggle studies at the end of the year, it should all sort itself out." Katie said.

"Yeah, I thought we were done with that?" Harry asked.

John rolled his eyes.

"Look at her." said John, motioning towards a table where Hermione was as usual, buried in piles of parchment and books.

There were noticeable bags under her eyes, and she looked almost as tired as professor Lupin.

"I see your point... but you can't force her to do anything. Besides, our names are registered for the exams already." said Katie.

"Quidditch should take her mind of things." said Harry, referring to the upcoming match.

"Actually, on the topic of Hermione..." Katie started.

Harry rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going.

"You do spend a lot of time with her. I really mean, _a lot_. Is there absolutely nothing... going on between you and her?" Katie asked.

"What... me and Herm- seriously?" John asked.

"Believe me Katie... if John wanted to be with Hermione, he'd have asked her out by now." said Harry.

"Definitely? Well... I can't help but feel threatened by her. She's really clever, really nice, and she's not exactly as unattractive as most Slytherins keep saying." said Katie.

"Come on Katie, it's like Harry said. I'd be all over her if I was interested in her in that way." said John, nonchalantly.

"Alright. Don't worry, I trust you. I just had to ask." said Katie.

John stayed silent for a moment.

"I can't blame you. Your boyfriend spends most of his time with a girl who doesn't exactly look like a troll... yeah." he said.

Harry snorted.

"I'll be totally honest here. Hermione is very attractive, but I can appreciate a girl being attractive without wanting to jump on her." said John.

Harry started outright laughing at John's bluntness, and Katie allowed herself to grin sheepishly.

"Jumping on a girl I'll reserve for you." said John, winking at Katie, who blushed.

"How are you so blunt and smooth at the same time?" Katie asked, resting her head on John's shoulder.

"I'll just leave before I vomit." said Harry, standing up and walking over to Ron, Delilah and Hermione, all of whom were working.

"Hard to be happy for John when he's being a nauseating twat." Harry said bluntly when he joined them.

"Harry!" Hermione said, looking scandalized.

Obviously Hermione hadn't accepted the concept of swear words being therapeutic.

"You know? Me and John are going to do some research and prove to you that swearing is a good idea." said Harry.

"Count me in. Though I don't know if wizards really look into this stuff." said Ron.

"No, they probably don't. Wizards aren't generally as curious as muggles about how things work." said Delilah.

"Well that is true. I mean aside from broomstick and wand making advances, there hasn't been much progress in wizarding society even since the Hogwarts founders were around, but look at what muggles have done since then." said Hermione.

"You planning on changing it single-handedly?" Ron said to Hermione teasingly.

"I certainly plan on doing something." said Hermione, her head still buried in her book.

Harry took a look at the book she was reading, and noted the title: _Hairy Snout, Human Heart._

"What's that book about? It's not a textbook." said Harry.

"It's about an anonymous author and his struggles with being a werewolf. I've only just started, but it sounds awful. Completely tragic." said Hermione.

"Why would you read something that bloody depressing?" Ron asked.

Harry and Delilah gave Ron and Hermione weird looks.

"You see, werewolves aren't exactly treated well. Even when they're not transformed, they can't get jobs, people don't talk to them, offer them housing, and they're often lonely, poor and sometimes mentally unstable. I think of them as akin to black people about eighty years ago in the UK or USA." Hermione explained.

"A lot of werewolves just don't bother to be good people and just... become monsters whether they're transformed or not. There's this really infamous one called Fenrir Greyback. He's known for attacking people when he's not even transformed, and sometimes he sets it up so that he deliberately transforms near children." Ron said.

"What! Don't they realize they're just enforcing the stigma?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"You think they care? The way they see it, no one's going to offer a werewolf so much as a knut so they just punish the rest of the wizarding world for it." said Ron.

"Surely not all werewolves are like that?" Delilah asked.

"No. But definitely enough to make people not want to trust them overall." said Ron.

"Makes me a bit... torn. I don't know if werewolves should be helped or not." said Harry.

"I think they do. I'm sure they'll turn from violence if given opportunities." said Hermione.

"Is that why you're reading that book?" Ron asked.

"Yes. If you remember Snape's essay back when John lost it with him, I did a lot of research on werewolves. I feel so sorry for them." said Hermione.

"Not a lot of wizards agree with you there Hermione. I don't know what to think myself though." said Ron.

"Well I'm just going to have to change the broader perception when I'm an adult then, won't I?" Hermione asked rhetorically.

* * *

Almost everyone had forgotten about their busy schedules by the time the Gryffindor vs Slytherin match loomed. The night before it, almost no one could remember a match with so much anticipation. McGonagall and some of the older staff members recalled such an atmosphere when Ravenclaw stood a chance at beating James Potter's now legendary team, though it was promptly followed by a hammering by the invincible Gryffindors.

No one was under the impression that Gryffindor would easily destroy Slytherin, though they did acknowledge that the Potter brothers had become something of a weapon at this point.

Harry certainly didn't doubt that between Angelina, Katie and of course John, Gryffindor could be fifty up on Slytherin and hold a lead. He didn't forget however, that Malfoy, for all the arrogance, was actually a good flier.

Some Slytherins had taken to trying to sabotage Harry covertly. Legs in the great hall would stick out, trying to trip him over, Crabbe and Goyle would occasionally show up, though John's presence was enough of a deterrent, and Harry even caught Malfoy trying to sabotage his potion in one of the lessons. He had no idea what the potion would have done if Malfoy succeeded.

"What's the matter Malfoy? Scared you can't win in a fair match?" John taunted when Harry caught him.

Harry though, was more concerned for his firebolt's safety than his own. He had taken to locking it in his trunk whenever it was unattended. John took it almost everywhere he went.

Even Hermione was caught up in it all. Clearly she still hadn't got over how furious she was at Malfoy with his treatment of Hagrid.

"I just can't concentrate." she said, putting her books away.

When Harry was sleeping that night, he was awoken by a very strange dream in which the Slytherins had shown up riding dragons. Shaking that absurd idea out of his head, he got out of his bed to get some water, but he saw something out of the corner of his eye, through the window.

He looked out onto the castle grounds, and saw something lurking around the forest. It was definitely an animal. Not now... the grim couldn't show up so close to a Quidditch match!

But he looked more closely, and when the animal walked out into the open, it turned out to only be Crookshanks. Or was it just Crookshanks? He still saw movement from nearby bushes. And there it was. The massive black dog, the size of a tiger or lion was now walking along the grass alongside Crookshanks.

But... if Crookshanks could see it too, then it couldn't be a death omen, could it? And John and Delilah saw it before the Knight bus showed up! Why hadn't he thought of that?

"Ron!" Harry whispered.

"Ron, John, both of you, wake up!" Harry hissed.

"Huh?"

"Whasgoinon?"

"Look! Down on the grass!" Harry said.

"It's dark." John replied tiredly. "What are you on about?"

"Down on the-"Harry started, before looking out of the window again to see that both Crookshanks and the dog had vanished.

A loud snore told Harry that Ron had fallen asleep again. John too.

* * *

The next morning, the Gryffindor team seemed to be getting nothing but words of encouragement from almost everyone who wasn't a Slytherin. Harry felt his face flushing when he heard Cho calling "Good luck Harry!" to him. John groaned.

"Are you going to ask her out or what?" He asked in a tired voice.

Harry didn't answer, and simply followed the rest of the team out to the locker rooms, where they got ready for the match.

Katie kissed John passionately before the team walked out onto the pitch.

"We'd like to hold onto our breakfast thanks." said Fred dryly.

"Well I think they make an adorable couple." said Angelina.

"Please don't use the word _adorable_. Makes me feel like a bloody three year old." said John, grinning but rolling his eyes.

"Focus up! We have a cup to win!" Wood said strictly.

Harry could have sworn he heard John muttering something like 'and I have something to cup'. The bright red flushing of Katie's face confirmed that. What were she and John doing in their spare time?!

As soon as all fourteen players were out on the field, the commentary began with Lee Jordan as usual, whilst most of the stadium was adorned in red.

"And here come the Gryffindors! Potter, Potter, Bell, Johnson, Weasley, Weasley and Wood! Acknowledged by many as the best team Hogwarts has seen in years!" Lee called, to earn a lot of boos from the Slytherin crowd.

"And now the Slytherins have arrived, and Captain Marcus Flint has made changes to the lineup. He seems to be going for size rather than skill." Lee commented, to yet more boos.

Harry thought Lee had a point. Their average player was as heavily built as John. Malfoy was completely dwarfed by his teammates. Derrick and Bole, their beaters, a pair of sixth years looked something like what John would like like when he would be fully grown, and Harry couldn't deny how intimidating they were. If they were playing rugby...

Soon enough, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the fourteen players rose into the air, and Lee began the commentary.

"As ever, Potter finds himself with the quaffle immediately, and passes it back to Johnson! Johnson starts tearing up the field, but Warrington intercepts and steals it! He ducks under Bell, but finds himself blocked off by Potter! And will he-YES! Potter steals it back, and beats the keeper! Gryffindor takes the lead, ten to zero!" Lee cried.

The Slytherins were clearly as angry as the Gryffindors were pumped up. When John regained possession of the quaffle, Marcus Flint tried to intercept, but at the last second, chose to grab John by the hair instead of playing the quaffle. Katie didn't take it lying down and deliberately flew straight into Flint, who almost fell off his broom.

"Penalty to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack from Slytherin! Penalty to Slytherin for the same reason!" Madam Hooch called, stamping down some much needed authority.

John took the penalty and as expected, the quaffle rocketed straight through a hoop at such a speed that Slytherin's keeper didn't stand a chance.

"An incredibly powerful shot! One must ask the question, is the _third year_ John Potter the strongest chaser on the pitch?" Lee said, to a great deal of Slytherin booing.

Wood somehow saved an admittedly good shot from Marcus Flint, keeping Gryffindor's lead somewhat extended.

The match continued, but it was only getting more and more littered with fouls. Bole, Slytherin's larger of their two beaters hit John not with a bludger, but with his beater's bat. John grunted in pain before he, in return, punched him so hard that Bole found himself unable to breathe for almost a minute, during which the match was paused. A match without four beaters on the field was just too uncontrollable with the nature of bludgers.

Harry expected Wood to berate John, and was rather surprised when he saw Wood's reaction.

"Damn good punch John." he said, smirking. Clearly because they were playing Slytherin, he was alright with hitting back.

Bole was clearly surprised that a third year could be that strong, and it seemed as if the Slytherins were now specifically planning on targeting Harry and the girls, as they were significantly less bulky than the Weasley twins, Wood and definitely John, and so fouls would be that much more effective on them.

Harry wasn't wrong with this guess. Angelina had a club thrown at her, Most of the Slytherin team were making walls now and again when Katie of Angelina got the quaffle (though that was legal), and by the time the match had reached half an hour in duration, Katie had a very noticeable nose bleed and a black eye, and Angelina had a very heavily bruised cheek.

John likely had a large bruise on the shoulder on which Bole hit him with a bat.

Meanwhile, Bole could still be seen occasionally clutching his chest. Maybe John had hit him so hard he'd broken a rib, and he was just running on adrenaline? The thought made Harry smirk. He couldn't wait to see what John could do on a rugby field when they reached seventh year.

Harry took a look at the scoreboard, and to his delight, saw that the score was now eighty to ten, and even though Slytherin were getting more desperate, it was making them careless.

John on his own had scored five of Gryffindor's eight goals, and didn't look to be in a mood to stop - he was on fire. Slytherin decided to target him once again, but now through ganging up.

When John next caught the quaffle, Flint flew straight at him, apparently seeking a head-on collision, which John did not look like shying away from. But John's tunnel-visioning on playing chicken with Flint made him oblivious to the Slytherin beaters both sending bludgers his way. John caught one of them before they struck, and dodged it, but the second one caught him in the stomach, winding him and causing him to drop the quaffle.

Harry was furious, but the move was legal. But he was distracted when he saw a familiar gold glint in the corner of his eye. Gryffindor were more than fifty points up... He zoomed towards it, but, somehow, felt himself slowing down to his horror. He had no idea what was going on until he looked behind him. Malfoy had somehow grabbed on to his firebolt's tail. The look on his face was a mix of exhaustion from holding onto the broom, and sheer determination to keep Harry away from the snitch at all costs.

"Why you little-"Harry started, before Madam Hooch, who was beside herself, blew the whistle for a Gryffindor penalty.

John couldn't take the penalty- he was still winded, and so Katie took it, but she was so angry that she missed outright. Gryffindor were losing focus with their anger, and Slytherin were spurred on by Malfoy's foul.

"Flint with possession and-" Lee commented before groaning. "He scores. Eighty to twenty. to Gryffindor."

Harry flew into the centre of the pitch, and to his horror, saw Malfoy flying in one direction single mindedly, completely away from every other player on the pitch. He knew what that meant, and immediately chased after Malfoy. He was closing in fast, then he was level... he took both arms off his broom, used one to knock Malfoy's arm out of the way, and with his other, made a mad grab for the snitch.

It didn't fully register with Harry when he held the struggling ball. John in fact had to fly up to him, with the goofiest grin he'd seen since he first got together with Katie before Harry realized that he'd just won Gryffindor the Quidditch cup.

This would certainly give some options for conjuring a patronus...

The two brothers flew down to the ground and immediately, the team all found themselves in a multi-person hug. Dumbledore handed a sobbing Wood the Quidditch cup, which he lifted triumphantly.

* * *

If the Gryffindor common room was a scene of chaos after the Ravenclaw victory, then this was simply something else entirely. Chants of "GRYFFINDOR!" or "POTTER!" were being heard for hours. John was too busy revelling in the chaos to notice something which Hermione and Delilah both spotted rather quickly.

"Where's Katie?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know. I'd have expected her to be here if it's a party about her team winning the Quidditch cup." Delilah said.

"It certainly doesn't look like John knows." said Hermione, looking at John, who was currently having an eating contest with a portly fifth year boy. Harry and Ron of course, found it hilarious - neither of them were bothering to chew properly and made weird facial expressions whenever they swallowed a piece of food.

"I'll go and look for her. By the way, you should probably think of ways to not get Antonio to think about this." said Hermione.

"That's a good point... if I'm feeling this good about the win then he'll be feeling awful." said Delilah, while Hermione went upstairs towards the girls' dorm.

She knocked on the door to the fourth year dorm.

"Katie? Are you in there?" Hermione asked.

"Err... yeah, why?" Katie asked.

"Can I come in?" Hermione asked.

"Sure." said Katie.

Hermione walked in and saw Katie sat at her bed, not doing anything at all.

"What are you doing up here?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing." Katie replied very quickly.

"Well there's a party going on downstairs in your team's honour. Is there any reason in particular why you're not at it?" Hermione asked.

"Well... you might just find it a bit stupid." said Katie.

"Well no one's immune to stupidity." said Hermione.

Katie sighed.

"It's... the black eye. Normally I'd have no problem walking around with a black eye, but now... with John..."Katie said, before trailing off.

"You're worried about not seeming attractive?" Hermione asked.

Katie nodded, though she looked mortified.

"Isn't John your boyfriend?" Hermione asked.

Katie nodded again.

"In that case he's interested in more than what you look like. He's certainly interested in more than what you look like when you look your best." said Hermione.

"You're right. I really was just being stupid." said Katie. Hermione smiled, and the two of them headed back down the stairs.

It seemed that Katie dearly needed someone with some objectivity to assess the situation, and the massive smile on the face John (who had of course won his eating contest) when she showed up confirmed what Hermione was saying.

"Where have you been? You were fucking great in the match!" John said, rushing over to and hugging her. Hermione couldn't help but feel some kind of pride and warmth in her chest upon seeing it. She also felt mildly surprised that John appeared to be acting antithetical to the more shallow behaviour he would be displaying earlier in the year with god knows how many girls.

"Well... it was stupid. Hermione decided to drag me out of my head." said Katie.

"Well then Hermione, I owe you a butterbeer if I ever get to Hogsmeade." said John.

Hermione played it off as nothing and went to join Harry, Ron, Delilah who were with the rest of the Gryffindor team.

"So what exactly was it?" John asked.

"I was just worried about the black eye." said Katie.

John raised an eyebrow.

"Right... because I couldn't possibly date you while you're injured." John said sarcastically.

Katie slapped John's shoulder playfully.

"Alright, it sounded stupid enough talking to Hermione." she said.

John decided to cut the small talk and kiss the top of Katie's head.

"You're plenty attractive whatever the case." he said.

Katie and John proceeded to join the rest of the Gryffindor team and enjoy celebrating an accomplishment which would without a doubt, be an option for conjuring a powerful patronus for years to come.


	12. Face to face

**This is an important chapter. Pay attention to Trelawney's prediction and the way in which she words it - it's different from the books on purpose, and it'll take effect in the coming chapters ;)**

The Euphoria that Harry, and indeed, Gryffindor as a whole felt upon winning the Quidditch cup lasted for a week, albeit in a diminishing magnitude day by day.

The weather had become what most people would have wanted all year round - approximately twenty to twenty-five degrees almost all day every day, a bright blue sky, a very light breeze, and the fact that the castle was built from stone meant that there was no shortage of cooler spots to relax in. In spite of this, no one had much time to relax. Exams were looming, and everyone had to once again bury their heads in textbooks and parchment.

John was seen dragging Katie off to mysterious corners of the castle less and less frequently, though when he did, Harry couldn't help but notice other girls looking on in jealousy. Every single comment made him roll his eyes and made Ron cringe.

"And she has a black eye right now too! He's so romantic!"

"He looks so good in a summer uniform!"

Summer uniform was the option of not wearing a tie and black robes, just the shirt with a button undone and sleeves rolled up. Eventually, John had stopped doing so altogether, and even he had buckled down to properly focus on exam preparation.

But no one could compare to how seriously Hermione took it all. She was walking with John from the library to get an ancient runes textbook, and when they caught Delilah and Antonio Machado snogging in a deserted hallway, she dragged Delilah with her to get back to studying. John laughed all the way from the hallway to the common room, and Machado looked on, completely baffled.

"What the hell just happened?" he wondered.

Eventually, the exams and their timings were put on the common room noticeboards, and everyone could be seen copying down the times of their own personal exams. Ron was seen shaking his head when he saw Hermione's timetable. Four of her exams were to take place within the timeframe of just two.

Their first exam was potions, which was, for Harry at least, disastrous. He saw Snape writing something which looked from the angle he was standing, suspiciously like a zero.

Harry would normally complain about Snape being biased, but he knew for a fact that his potion was not good enough. He doubted he actually earned a zero, but still... he felt his stomach lurch when John asked about how his potion looked.

"Mine was... sort of on the right track, but I didn't have time to finish it. I think Snape loved the fact that I couldn't finish the damn thing." said John.

"I did something wrong. I don't know what it was, but it was never thick enough. It was the right colour at least... so there's that." said Harry, gloomily.

Next came Astronomy, which went reasonably well, and History of Magic, where Harry was glad for his talks with Florean Fortescue, but John had managed to forget almost everything. Ron somehow managed to scrape together the odd statement from Professor Binns to use for his answers. Delilah had very little issue, and Hermione of course, finished the exam with fifteen minutes to spare.

Transfiguration always made both Harry and Hermione jealous of John. It was difficult, as expected with McGonagall's high standards, and even Hermione admitted that it was not an easy exam. Somehow, John managed to properly cast every transformation McGonagall had asked. McGonagall remarked how she hadn't seen such an aptitude in her subject since James Potter. John of course, came out of the classroom with an unbearably smug look on his face.

Defence against the Dark arts went far better, though it was one of the weirdest exams they could have imagined. Professor Lupin had constructed something of an obstacle course, involving a grindylow, some red caps, a hinkypunk and a boggart.

John and Harry achieved full marks, John deciding to show off with the sheer efficiency he completed the course, whereas Harry took his time and did what he needed to do more methodically. Delilah completed the course, though she didn't receive full marks due to her difficulty in dealing with the grindylow. Ron performed to perfection until he got distracted by the hinkypunk, and Hermione sprinted out of the trunk with the boggart, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Hermione! What happened?" Lupin asked.

"Professor McGonagall! Sh-she said I failed everything!" she gasped.

John burst out laughing without hesitation, despite Delilah's elbow and angry glare. Both Harry and Ron couldn't blame him - they were struggling to hold back their own laughter whilst trying to calm her down.

"John, that's horrible! What if Hermione laughed at your worst fear?" Delilah said once Hermione had calmed down.

John rolled his eyes.

"Because fucking dementors aren't terrifying at all, are they? I'll also remind you that Hermione _did_ laugh at Ron's fear of spiders." said John. Hermione looked sheepish.

"I'm going to have to side with John here. Some people are just afraid of silly stuff. And didn't Lupin's boggart lesson teach you about the fact that you should not fear fear itself, but laugh at it?" Harry challenged.

"Well... you're right there, but it's still insensitive." said Delilah.

"I can accept that, but I never said I was the most sensitive bloke around." said John.

"John? Sensitive? Blimey Delilah, do you know your cousin?" Ron asked.

"Well he's excellent with Katie, so you'll have to excuse me for expecting better out of him." said Delilah.

"Come on Delilah, John's good with me too. Need I remind you who the first person to befriend me at this school was?" Hermione asked.

"That has nothing to do with laughing at your fears." said Delilah.

"True, but the point is that John is better than you give him credit for at making people feel good. In any case, I don't mind that he laughed at that. It is illogical if you think about it." said Hermione.

"If you say so." said Delilah.

Divination was Harry's last exam. He and Ron headed to the divination tower whilst Hermione, Delilah and John went to their ancient runes exam.

It was as simple as looking into a crystal ball and making a prediction. But once Harry's time was up, something particularly bizarre happened.

Trelawney began breathing in a terrifying, wheezy manner, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She stood up unnaturally fast and spoke in a very loud, harsh sounding voice which was completely unlike her own normal voice.

 _"IT WILL HAPPEN!"_

"Professor?" Harry asked, feeling rather frightened.

 _"THE DARK LORD LIES SOMEWHERE IN THE AETHER, ALONE AND FRIENDLESS! HIS FOLLOWERS HAVE ABANDONED HIM! HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED FOR TWELVE YEARS! TONIGHT, THE SERVANT WILL REVEAL HIMSELF! DECADE LONG QUESTIONS SHALL BE ANSWERED! THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE! HE WILL BE REUNITED WITH THE DARK LORD, AND HE WILL RISE AGAIN!"_

Trelawney fell back into her chair and her eyes rolled back out to their normal position. Harry ran over to her, feeling genuinely worried for her.

"Professor? Are you OK?" Harry asked, panicked.

"Oh, I'm sorry my dear, I must have dozed off." said Trelawney.

Harry just stared at her, still somewhat in shock.

"Is there a problem dear boy?" she asked.

"Y-you just said... the Dark Lord's going to rise again, that his servant's going to break free and rejoin him." Harry said.

"The Dark Lord? He-who-must-not-be-named? That is no matter to be joking about!" said Trelawney.

"But you just said-"Harry started, but Trelawney raised her hand to silence him.

"My dear, you must have dozed off too." she said.

"I would not predict something so far-fetched and sinister without the fates informing me and sending signs far beforehand." said Trelawney.

Harry was now both terrified and confused. That definitely wasn't Trelawney speaking in that voice. Something was not right at all. Was the servant Sirius Black? And 'it will happen', but when? Was it even a real prediction even if that wasn't Trelawney?

Harry sprinted to the Gryffindor common room hoping to find Ron, Hermione, Delilah and John. He did.

"Guys! Trelawney just-"Harry started, but upon the looks on their faces, he stopped talking.

"Hagrid just sent this. He lost." said Ron, handing Harry a note.

 _Lost the appeal._

 _They will execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it. Thank you for everything you all did._

The writing was very shaky - clearly Hagrid was barely holding himself together as he wrote it.

"We have to go." Harry said at once.

"There's no way I'm letting him sit alone waiting for the executioner." he added.

"But it's at sunset. We'd never be allowed. We'd all be in a lot of trouble, especially you Harry." said Delilah.

"If we had the cloak though..." said John.

"I can't get it. If Snape sees me near there again I'm in big trouble. Ron, John, he probably suspects both of you as well." said Harry.

"That's true. How do you open the witch's hump?" Hermione asked.

"You tap it with your wand and say 'dissendum'. But-"Harry said.

Hermione didn't wait for the rest of his sentence. Delilah followed her.

"I'll keep a lookout." she said, as they left the portrait hole.

"They... they haven't gone to get it, have they?" Ron asked, astounded.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, they returned with the cloak.

"Delilah, I've come to expect stuff like this from you recently but Hermione! You hit Malfoy, walk out on Trelawney, and now this?" Ron said, the look on his face showing every ounce of pride and shock.

Hermione looked very flattered.

The five of them went to dinner like everyone else, but despite Antonio asking Delilah to hang out that evening, they did not go back to their common room (or the Slytherin common room for Delilah). They waited until the coast was clear, and Harry threw the cloak over them. Ron and John had to kneel and walk on their knees so that the cloak covered them all, and they headed all the way down to Hagrid's hut, very slowly so that Ron and John could keep up.

They knocked on his door. Hagrid took almost a minute to answer, and when he did, they could see his face being completely white and in some sort of shock.

"Hagrid, it's us. We're under the cloak." said Harry.

Hagrid stepped back.

"Yeh shouldn' have come." Hagrid said weakly, as they walked in and stepped inside.

Watching Hagrid burst into tears would have been easier than this. Hagrid looked like a man who didn't know where he was, or what he could do. He _was_ that man.

"Want some tea?" He asked, with a wavering voice, as he grabbed the kettle.

"Where'e Buckbeak?" Harry asked.

"I took him outside. I thought he should feel some fresh air and the smell of the trees before..." said Hagrid, who then dropped the milk jug, which shattered, as his hands were just trembling too much.

"I'll sort that out." said John, who took out his wand and started to levitate the glass shards into the nearby bin.

"There's definitely nothing anyone can do? Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"No. Dumbledore can' overrule the committee, and he's got enough on his plate. And the executioner MacNair is an ol' pal o' Malfoy's. Dumbledore said he wants ter be here when they... when it happens. Great man Dumbledore. A great man." said Hagrid.

"We'll stay too Hagrid." said Delilah. She and Hermione had tears in their eyes, and it was obvious that John was cleaning up just to have something else to focus on rather than watching Hagrid in the state he was in.

"I can' let yeh do that. Yeh have to get back ter the castle. I don' wan' you seein' something like tha' and yeh shouldn' even be down here anyway." said Hagrid.

Hermione picked up an empty jug and let out a shriek.

"Ron! It... it's Scabbers!"

"What? What are you on about?" Ron asked.

"Look!" Hermione said, putting the jug upside down on the table, and when she lifted it up, sure enough, Scabbers slid out.

Ron immediately grabbed him and held him up against some light. He looked thinner than ever, patches of hair were missing, and he was writhing around in Ron's hands, trying to free himself.

"It's OK Scabbers! Nothing's going to hurt you here!" said Ron.

Even when Hermione threw the cloak over the five of them when Hagrid spotted Fudge, Dumbledore and MacNair, Scabbers would not calm down. They made it all the way up the hill, and by then, Scabbers started biting Ron, who was beginning to get particularly frustrated.

"Scabbers! Shut up! You idiot, it's me, Ron!" Ron groaned.

Despite Scabbers' squealing and Ron's futile attempts to calm him down, they could all hear male voices indistinctly chattering from Hagrid's hut, followed by a silence. Upon the silence, their stomachs collectively lurched. They knew what that meant.

The unmistakable sound of an axe hitting the ground was the only thing that was heard for the next ten seconds.

The silence was eventually broken by Hermione, by the time they'd reached the top of the hill which lead down to Hagrid's hut.

"They actually did it... those monsters! I can't believe it!" She whispered.

"How could they..." Delilah said, weakly.

Harry was starting to feel ill at the image of what was now Buckbeak's headless corpse.

"Hagrid." he said immediately, but John immediately grabbed him.

"Fudge and Dumbledore are there. Don't be an idiot. It's bad enough they killed him." said John, grimly, but keeping his objectivity, as they moved on towards the castle.

All this time, Scabbers hadn't stopped fighting. Ron was still struggling to keep a hold of him, and soon enough, they figured out why. Through the cloak, about ten feet in front of them, were a pair of yellow eyes that were faintly glowing due to the setting sun and diminishing light.

"Crookshanks! Go away!" Hermione cried, desperately, but it was too late. Crookshanks was still moving towards them, and worse still, Scabbers bit Ron's finger and slipped away.

"Scabbers!" Ron cried, before extracting himself from the cloak to chase after him.

"Oh for-"John groaned, before running after him.

Harry, Delilah and Hermione stood still as a group of statues, listening out for what was going on. Ron and John hadn't gotten far, they were only a few feet within the forest, and within earshot as well.

"Gotcha! Stupid rat, bloody hell..." Ron grumbled.

"Jesus Crookshanks, stop! Fuck me... Stop struggling, I'm not trying to hurt you!" John said, raising his voice more than they'd have liked. Clearly, John had grabbed Crookshanks, who was not taking it lying down.

"Go on! Go to Hermione!" he said. To Hermione's relief, Crookshanks trotted towards the cloak, and into Hermione's arms.

But that was not the end of it. John and Ron, about ten seconds later were seen sprinting as fast as they could away from the trees, in the direction of the castle.

"Fucking run!" John roared as he and Ron towards them.

The other three were confused for a moment, before the realized what was behind them. By this time, Harry had taken the cloak off, to better see their surroundings and he deeply regretted that decision.

Out of the treeline came the same immense dog that had been plaguing Harry all year. The grim.

It let out a ferocious growl, and in just five bounds, completely caught up with Ron and John, who were both level with Harry, Hermione and Delilah. It leapt straight at Harry, who felt the massive paws collide with his chest. He saw teeth at least an inch long, but for some reason, didn't feel the powerful jaws closing in on his throat. It leapt straight past him. It completely ignored the girls, and John, and its jaws slammed shut around Ron's leg.

Ron let out a loud grunt of pain as the dog yanked him off his feet, causing him to tumble to the ground, falling on his chest.

"Ron!" John yelled, chasing after them, with Harry, Hermione and Delilah all following.

The dog was dragging Ron like a rag doll, somehow dragging Ron at a faster pace than John, or even Harry at a full sprint. It had dragged him to some kind of tunnel at the base of a tree, and it had fully disappeared down into it. Ron's torso and arms were still visible, and he was fighting with all his might to stay at the surface.

Next, a sickening crunch was heard, and it sounded something like a muffled gunshot. Ron's shin had been snapped in half. Ron let out a roar of pain, and he was completely dragged under, just as Harry was close enough to grab him.

"NO!" Harry yelled.

They had no time to regroup and think of what to do next, as they were all struck and sent flying by something very hard.

John was the first to recover and stand. The dog had dragged Ron under the whomping willow.

"Whomping Willow! Move!" he yelled at once, causing the other three to scatter.

They found themselves dodging everything, from smaller branches to larger ones as thick as a leg. A smaller branch about as thick as a thumb, acting something like a more brittle version of a whip swung with immense speed at Delilah's head, and Harry was astonished to see John shatter it with his fist and forearm.

In a moment of either stupidity or shock (or both), John stared at his fist like a cartoon character, as if in awe of a legendary weapon, before a larger branch slammed into his stomach, launching him six feet into the air, before he landed in a heap some three metres away.

Before the Willow could finish John off with yet more similarly sized branches though, Crookshanks weaved in between the whirlwind of wood and touched a particular knot on the tree, which immediately froze up in response.

"How-" Hermione started, helping a winded John to his feet. Harry had no idea how John wasn't actually injured, and only winded.

"I've seen Crookshanks hanging out with the dog. They're friends... or something." Harry said, darkly.

Delilah gulped.

"We need to go for help!" Hermione said.

"No way. That thing is the size of a fucking lion, it could eat him. We don't have time." Said John in a slightly wheezy voice, though visibly, he'd mostly recovered.

Harry wholeheartedly agreed, and he lead the four of them down through the tunnel, which felt at least as long as the one at the once eyed witch. Though this one had more space. None of them slowed down for even a second, and despite being slightly hunched over, all four of them were outright running. Thoughts began to creep in of Ron, with lifeless eyes and an opened stomach and chest cavity, but Harry immediately shook them away. They couldn't be that far away, and Ron was surely able to fight it off for some time at least...

"Where does this go?" Delilah asked.

"Fred and George think it goes to Hogsmeade. They've never gone down it because of the Willow. Who would, right?" John quipped, trying to diffuse the tension.

Harry wanted to laugh, but simply sped up - those horrible thoughts of Ron becoming food simply wouldn't stop forming.

Eventually, they came to a wooden building. A very old, decrepit one. Wallpaper was peeling off, the wood itself was dusty, old furniture was strewn around haphazardly.

"We're... in the shrieking shack." Delilah said at once.

"I think you're right. But... ghosts don't do that." Harry said, pointing at a massive wooden table and matching chairs, all shattered, with pieces lying here and there.

"Lumos." the four of them said immediately, pulling out their wands.

"Come on, Ron can't be that far." said John, who opened a door, to prove his theory correct immediately.

Ron was sat in a corner, with his leg bent at an angle that made Hermione gag.

"Ron! The dog, where-"John started.

"He's the dog. Animagus..."Ron said, gritting his teeth, pointing to the other side of the room. Crookshanks was sat on a handsome four poster bed with dusty hangings, but beside the bed stood a man with long, dirty black hair, waxy, pale white skin, an unkempt beard, and crazed eyes. Sirius Black.

"Expelliarmus." he croaked, using Ron's wand.

All four of the other wands in the room flew out of the hands of their owners, towards Black, who, in spite of years either in prison or on the run, caught them all with lightning reflexes.

"I should have expected you to come for your friend." said Black.

"You say that like it wasn't your plan all along." Delilah said in an eerily calm voice.

"It wasn't. Though... it may prove beneficial..." Black said.

"What?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Before Black could make any explanations, Harry took a step forward. He felt an incomprehensible rage filling him up. Never had he wanted to kill anyone in his entire life, but now... the man responsible for the death of his parents was staring him in the face. He didn't care that he didn't have a wand. He would use his bare hands...

But John roughly yanked him back. How John was able to not want to do the same was beyond Harry.

Ron stood up without warning. No one had any idea how.

"If you want to kill Harry, you're going to have to get through me." Ron said, through gritted teeth. The pain of standing on a broken leg was already affecting him visibly.

"Lay down. You'll damage your leg even more." Black said.

"DID YOU HEAR ME? YOU'RE HERE TO KILL HARRY, BUT I'M IN YOUR WAY!" Ron roared.

Hermione and Delilah let out frightened squeaks, but they didn't try to run. John looked at Ron in awe, but Harry was still fixated on Black.

John pulled Ron back down onto the floor in the corner.

"Save whatever energy you've got left." John advised him.

"There'll only be one death here tonight." Black said.

"Why? When you were after Pettigrew, you didn't care about killing twelve muggles as collateral damage! Azkaban making you soft?" Harry challenged, trying to step forwards, but again only to be held back by John's tree-trunk like arms. He was planning on turning on John soon. How could he be so calm in the presence of the murderer of their parents? How could he not want Black's blood at this stage?

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared, and with an almighty effort, he yanked himself out of John's grip, and lunged at Black.

Hermione and Delilah screamed, and Ron yelled, trying to get up and stop Harry, but John pushed him back.

Harry didn't know if it was the shock of himself doing something so stupid or not, but Black didn't raise any of the wands in time, and Harry punched him in the stomach as hard as he could, before using what he learned in rugby, to tackle Black straight into the ground, and the wands all fell to the floor. Harry was about to pounce onto Black's prone form, before John grabbed Harry from behind and threw him across the room. Harry landed on his side, at Hermione and Delilah's feet.

"JOHN! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Harry roared, once he'd got up.

"Look at yourself! You're about to become no better than HIM!" John roared back.

Harry's rage was completely blinding him at this point, and he sprinted straight at John. If he had to knock John out of the way to get at Black, then so be it. But Harry had forgotten how much bigger and stronger John was, and so when Harry tried to barge John out of the way, he was just bounced backwards. Harry narrowed his eyes and glared at John. He couldn't remember ever wanting to hurt his brother. Until now. What had gotten into him? Harry then did something he'd likely regret for years, and something which drove both Hermione and Delilah to tears. He swung his fist straight at John's face. John didn't expect it at all, and just stood there and took it.

The punch barely affected John though, and when Harry swung again, John caught Harry's arm, and shoved him back to where he stood moments earlier.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Harry roared once again.

"SHUT UP! SOMETHING'S CLEARLY NOT RIGHT HERE!" John bellowed so loudly that Harry could have sworn the room shook.

John sighed.

"Look. He's had our wands. He's had every chance to kill you, which is supposed to be why he's out of Azkaban. Why are you not dead? Why are we all not dead?" John asked.

He was starting to make a lot of sense.

"And obviously he really was a Ron's bed that night. He had a knife in a room of unarmed, sleeping boys, including his supposed target. You weren't dead then either." said John.

"Thank you. Your father would have-"Black started.

"SHUT UP! Your actions aren't exactly in line with an innocent man you know. I'm planning on getting to the bottom of this properly, and taunts about my dad are not going to help." said John, fiercely.

"Taunts? James was... he was my brother." Black said sadly.

John's eyes narrowed. He seemed so... sincere... but then again, Voldemort's group would easily have been capable of teaching him how to imitate real empathy.

"So why is he dead? At your hands? And the more pressing question right now. Why is Harry alive?" John asked.

"Before he answers any of that, John, I'm honestly a bit scared right now. You're face to face with the murderer of your parents." Delilah said. Black flinched.

"How are you acting?" she finished.

"It's when I d- err... the basilisk. You know... it changed the way I see things. Objectivity. Knowing the truth. Making the right decision and all that." John said.

John almost let slip to Black that he'd died, but to everyone else, it all made sense. When John died, a fundamental change to his worldview was made. A newfound value for life, and a newfound value for truth. Living life based on facts and the truth was something John apparently held very dearly since his death. That's why he was so eerily objective. Almost... unemotionally objective.

"That aside, you'd better answer my questions." said John. Black was astonished to find that amidst all the chaos, that John had taken the wands back. All five of them. It seemed as if he did it before he dragged Harry off him.

John gave everyone back their own wands, apart from Harry. Anything Black could say at this point may easily set Harry off on a warpath.

"You killed my parents." Harry said, his voice shaking with anger.

"I don't deny it." said Black, grimly.

"But if you knew the whole story..." Black started.

"I know enough. You never heard them did you? My dad trying to hold Voldemort off? My mum begging for our lives? Voldemort laughing?" Harry retorted.

"Listen to me! You'll regret it if you don't know the truth!" Black said urgently.

Before anyone could make any further moves, another sound was heard... footsteps from below. Hermione acted as quickly as she could.

"WE'RE UP HERE!"


	13. Who is Sirius Black?

The footsteps in the distance turned out to belong to none other than professor Lupin.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled as soon as he came in. Lupin, like Black caught the wands with unnaturally fast reflexes and dexterity.

Lupin then turned to Black, and spoke in an incredibly firm, tense voice.

"Where is he?" He asked.

What? What did that mean? Who could he be talking about? Black's face was without expression for a few seconds. Clearly he at first didn't know what Lupin was talking about either, but apparently, he figured it out, and pointed at Ron.

"But then..." Lupin muttered. He was now staring at Black in a manner that made him look like someone trying to read minds. "Why hasn't he shown himself until now... unless... you switched without telling me?"

"Professor, I'm trying to figure out the truth here. He's been labelled as a murderer, with witnesses putting him at the scene of a mass murder. He's hesitated to kill us, when he's been armed and we haven't more than once. What in the living fuck is going on?" John asked, bluntly.

Lupin would have admonished the language John chose to use normally, but this was clearly a very particular situation. He didn't even answer John's question. He switfly strode over to Black, and embraced him like a brother.

"WHAT!" Hermione screamed.

Lupin let go of Black and turned to face her.

"You... you-"

"Hermione, calm down, and let-"Lupin started.

"I've been covering up for you! I didn't say a word to anyone!" Hermione screamed.

"Hermione, listen to me, I promise I can explain absolutely-"Lupin tried again, but Harry interrupted this time.

"I TRUSTED YOU! AND YOU'VE BEEN HIS FRIEND THIS WHOLE TIME!" he bellowed.

"That's not true. I haven't been Sirius' friend, until now. If you'll allow me to explain-"Lupin started.

"NO! Don't trust him! He's been helping Black get into the castle! He's a werewolf! He wants you dead too!" Hermione said, dropping the bomb on everyone.

A very tense, pregnant silence filled the room. Everyone was staring at Lupin, who was looking very pale.

"Not at all up to your usual standard Hermione. One out of three this time. I certainly don't want Harry dead. I haven't been helping Sirius, or anyone into the castle. But... I am a werewolf." said Lupin.

The same pregnant silence returned to the room, with a vengeance.

"How long have you known?" Lupin asked, breaking the silence.

"Ages." said Hermione. "Since Professor Snape set us that essay."

"He'll be very pleased with himself. He assigned that essay, hoping someone would figure out what my symptoms really meant. Did you check a lunar chart to realize that whenever I was away, it coincided with the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart didn't transform into a crystal ball with me, and that it was in fact, the moon?" Lupin asked.

"Both." Hermione said, struggling to keep something of a level head.

Lupin let out a forced sort of laugh which made him all the more terrifying with the knowledge that he was a werewolf. His fierce, orange eyes now made sense.

"You are the brightest witch your age I've ever met." said Lupin.

"No. If she were a bit brighter, she'd have told everyone that you're a monster!" Delilah retorted defiantly.

John had enough by this point.

"THAT'S BLOODY ENOUGH!" he roared.

Everyone looked at John in shock.

"You know... I thought you lot were smarter than this. Black's meant to be a murderer with no conscience, with no one meaning shit to him but Voldemort himself. Why the hell is he showing concern about your leg Ron? Why hasn't he killed the lot of us? He's had more than one chance! Something isn't right here, and you're acting like you're on a fucking medieval witch hunt! And Hermione, Delilah... what the fuck happened to your sympathy for werewolves and the bullshit they have to put up with?" John asked.

No one in that room had ever seen John behaving like that. How he managed to keep the emotions of dealing with his parents' betrayer out of the situation and deal only with the facts presented to him greatly impressed Lupin, that was absolutely certain. Hermione and Delilah looked down at their feet in shame, and Harry finally started to seriously reconsider everything he was thinking about the whole situation. Ron meanwhile, was barely keeping up with the conversation, due to the constant blinding pain due to his snapped shin bones in his left leg.

Lupin decided to latch onto the thread that John's objectivity had provided. He handed back everyone their wands, and also gave John his own wand in good faith.

"There. You're all armed. We're not. Now can I explain what is happening?" Lupin asked.

Despite John throwing everything about the situation into question, Harry still felt like it was a trick, but he played along. He and his friends had the leverage. If they didn't like what they heard, they could stun the adults and turn them in.

"If you haven't been helping him, then how did you know he was here?" Harry asked, breathing heavily, trying to contain the rage that was still boiling inside his chest.

"The map, remember?" Lupin asked.

"You mean you know how to-"Hermione started.

"Yes. Harry, Ron and John already knew that. But what you didn't know was that I helped to write it myself." said Lupin.

"You wrote..." Ron started.

"Yes. I'm Moony. My friends' nickname for me back in my schooldays. You can see the irony I'm sure." said Lupin with a bitter laugh.

"What's important though, is that I imagined that you might want to be with Hagrid due to his Hippogriff's execution. I was right. The five of you went to Hagrid, but six of you left." said Lupin.

"What? Six?" Delilah asked.

"Exactly. Six of you left. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the name." said Lupin.

"But there was no one with us!" Ron yelled.

"I thought the map was malfunctioning or something, but being one of the makers, I knew it to be impossible. I then saw Sirius dragging two of you down through the whomping willow passage." said Lupin.

"One!" Ron yelled again.

"No. Two of you. May I have a look at your rat?" Lupin asked.

Ron put a protective hand over the pocket where Scabbers was.

"What's Scabbers got to do with anything?" Ron asked.

"Everything. Can I look at him?" Lupin asked.

Ron hesitantly took Scabbers out of his pocket.

"You should know. That isn't a rat." Black croaked.

"What? Of course he's a rat!" Delilah replied.

"No. He's a wizard." said Lupin.

"An animagus no less. Named Peter Pettigrew." said Black.

Scabbers (Pettigrew?) began thrashing around wildly, trying to break free as Ron held him.

Everyone stared at the two adults. Ron voice what Harry was thinking.

"You're mental!"

"That's ridiculous!" Hermione said indignantly.

"Pettigrew's dead. You killed him!" Harry shouted.

"No. I wish I had." Black said, baring his teeth. He made moves towards Ron, but Lupin stopped him.

"No Sirius! They have to understand everything! Harry and John deserve the truth! We owe them that!" Lupin said.

The mentions of Harry and John's names placated Black immediately. He was looking less and less like a guilty man by the second.

"Alright. But make it quick. I was imprisoned for murdering him. I want to make that a reality." Black snarled.

Lupin grimaced, but did as Black said.

"Start with that then. How the hell is that Peter Pettigrew if a whole street of people saw him get murdered?" Delilah asked.

"They didn't see what they thought they saw." Black growled.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter. Myself included, in fact. But I saw the map tonight. The marauders' map cannot, and will not lie. Peter Pettigrew is alive, and Ron is holding him." said Lupin.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, and they were thinking exactly the same thing. Black and Lupin were completely mad.

"B-but professor... you know that that isn't Pettigrew. It just can't be." said Hermione.

"And why is that?" Lupin asked politely, as if he were asking a class a question.

"Well... if that's Pettigrew, and he's an animagus, then he'd have to be registered. It's a ministry law to register with them upon becoming an animagus. I looked at the registry to look for McGonagall's name. There have only been seven animagi this century. Pettigrew's name was never there." said Hermione.

There wasn't enough time to marvel at the sheer amount of effort Hermione put into her homework before Lupin responded.

"Right again Hermione! But the ministry never knew that there were three unregistered animagi running around Hogwarts almost twenty years ago." said Lupin.

Black sighed.

Before their eyes, he transformed into the giant fearsome dog, before morphing back to his human form.

"Was I on that registry?" he asked in a bored sort of voice.

"N-no." said Hermione.

It still sounded mad that Pettigrew was Ron's rat. But that transformation made it just that little bit more credible.

"You see, it all started with my becoming a werewolf." said Lupin.

Harry failed to see the relevance, but didn't interrupt this time, nor did any of the others.

"You see, I was bitten as a child, and my parents tried everything, but there was no cure. There still isn't. The potion Professor Snape has been making is only a recent discovery, and even it does not make me a werewolf. It is the wolfsbane potion, and it allows me to retain a human mind in a wolf's body, allowing me to curl up in my office as nothing but a harmless, albeit very intelligent wolf." said Lupin wryly.

"Before the potion though, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible for me to go to Hogwarts. Parents would never have it. But Professor Dumbledore became headmaster. He was sympathetic, and he saw no reason to deny me of an education. I told you the whomping willow was planted the year I came to school. It was actually planted _because_ I came to the school. Upon the evenings of my transformations, I would be escorted through the passageway guarded by the willow, into here, where my transformations were kept away from anyone who might be harmed. The screams and howls villagers would hear were me. This place isn't haunted." said Lupin.

No one could see where the story was going, but everyone bar Black (who was eyeing Scabbers hungrily) was listening intently. It was tragic, and yet captivating and fascinating to hear.

"The transformations back then were... terrible. The worst times of my life by far. Turning into a werewolf is extremely painful. Imagine having your very bones forcefully contort and twist themselves into a canine... (lupine to be specific) form. And it didn't end there. I was separated from humans to attack, so I bit and scratched myself instead. I would come back to the hospital wing the next morning, covered in injuries, some of which you can still see the remnants of on my face. But the transformations aside, Hogwarts was the best time of my life. I had the three best friends anyone could ask for. Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and... your father. James Potter." said Lupin.

Harry and John felt a weird sensation in their chest upon hearing their father's name.

"My friends could of course notice my monthly absences. I would make up excuses, my mother was ill and I had to see her, and other similar stories, but they figured it out before the end of our first year. I was terrified that they'd abandon me, but they did something incredible instead. They became animagi." said Lupin.

"Dad as well?" Harry asked.

"Yes. He was the first to succeed in fact. It took them the best part of three years to work it out, but your father and Sirius were the cleverest students in the school. It was a good thing too, as animagus transformations can go horribly wrong, one of the reasons the ministry monitors it so heavily. Peter needed help, he was never as fast as James or Sirius, but he too succeeded by our fifth year." said Lupin.

"How would that help you though?" Delilah asked.

"As humans, they could never keep a werewolf company. But werewolves pose no threat to animals. So they could keep me company. They snuck out of the castle under James' old cloak every month and transformed. Peter was small enough to touch the knot on the willow which froze it. James and Sirius took the form of animals large enough to keep even a werewolf in check. But... we got too confident. We were so clever and so wrapped up in our 'brilliance' that we just got reckless. We would have adventures, leaving the shrieking shack, and wandering the school grounds. So foolish... there would be times where we almost had contact with humans and had a laugh about it the next morning." Lupin said ashamedly.

"That was how I repaid Dumbledore's trust in me." he added, his bitterness coming to the forefront.

"That was dangerous and irresponsible! You didn't think about what would happen if a student came face to face with a werewolf?" Delilah shouted all of a sudden.

"I know. We were irresponsible, and that thought haunts me to this day. I felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, but I always forgot about it when the full moon came about and we had our adventures." Lupin said.

"Stop beating around the bush Remus." Black growled. His eyes were still fixed upon Scabbers, and he looked like any wasted time would simply trigger him into a violent rage upon the rat in Ron's hands.

"Right. So it came about that Snape got involved. He was also suspicious about where I went every month, and Sirius played a trick on him... involving me." said Remus.

"He deserved it! None of it was his business, he was obviously trying to get us expelled." said Black.

"And what we were doing was an expellable offence." Lupin shot back

Black went quiet.

"James found out and he was furious. He then did something which Snape would hate James for forever as far as I could tell. He dragged Snape away from there just moments before he came face to face with a fully grown werewolf. He was close enough to literally hear me." said Lupin.

Delilah immediately connected the dots.

"Snape always seemed like he didn't get along with you properly. This must be why. He thought you were in on the joke, didn't he?" Delilah asked.

Another voice now came from right behind Lupin. The most unwelcome voice they could have asked for.

"That's right Dursley."

It was Snape. He was pulling the invisibility cloak off himself, and pointed his wand directly at Lupin.

"I found this at the base of the whomping willow. Very useful Potter, I must thank you. It also explains so much confusion on my part. But that will be addressed another time. I suppose you're wondering how I knew to be here?" Snape asked.

No one answered, but Snape could tell that everyone wanted to know how he knew where they were.

"I went to your office Lupin. I hadn't given you the potion, but I didn't find you at your desk. In fact, I found an open map with moving names. Now of course I know what that 'Zonko product' really is, and so I found your names here. And here I am. I told Dumbledore you've been helping an old friend back into the castle, and now... here's the proof." said Snape.

"Brilliant _Severus._ Once again, you put your keen, penetrating mind to the task, and as usual, you came to the wrong conclusion. If you'll excuse us, we have twelve years of lies to correct." said Black dismissively.

Snape turned his wand to Black, fully ready to attack. Lupin was unarmed, and Snape didn't see the five teens as a threat.

"I could do it you know... but why deny the dementors? They're so longing to see you." said Snape. Black's face was turned away from Harry, who didn't know how Black was reacting.

"Do I detect a flicker of fear? Yes, I think so. A dementor's kiss... one can only imagine what that must be like... it's said to be almost unbearable to witness, but I'll do my best. Maybe they'll have another kiss ready for a werewolf..." said Snape viciously.

"Is a schoolboy grudge worth destroying the soul of an innocent man?" Lupin asked coolly.

"Innocent. You'll have to excuse my skepticism." said Snape.

"But professor, it couldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, could it? I mean, if there was a mistake..." Delilah started.

"BE QUIET YOU STUPID GIRL! You five are in enough trouble as it is! Out of bounds, after hours in the company of a convicted murderer!" Snape snapped.

"You... pathetic excuse for a human being... you hated them at school, and now that they're trying to explain something, you think that schoolboy grudge is worth not letting them talk? We're all armed, they're not you moron!" John retorted angrily.

"Silence! I will not be spoken to like that!" Snape shouted.

"I'll speak to you how I damn well please. Call me crazy but the fact that I'm talking to a convicted murderer who never had a trial takes precedence over me giving you respect which you haven't even earned you greasy fuck." John said.

The outright disrespect was clearly getting under Snape's skin, and both John and Snape felt transported back to the famous confrontation in the defence against the dark arts class all those months ago.

Harry had enough.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled, pointing his wand at Snape. But he wasn't the only one. He looked around and saw John, Ron, Hermione and Delilah, all four of them having done the exact same thing. Snape was blasted backwards at an unprecedented speed, and he fell unconscious onto the floor.

"What did we just do..." Delilah said, softly.

"We attacked a teacher... we just attacked a teacher..." Hermione was repeating as if the fact was driving her slightly mad.

"You shouldn't have done that." Black said.

"Tell me the rest. Now." Harry said, forcefully, pointing his wand at him.

"I think it's better if we just showed the proof. Ron?" Lupin asked.

"There are millions of rats in the country! How the hell could you know that this is who you think it is?" Ron asked.

That was something no one had yet considered. It was such an important question, and yet somehow, everyone but Ron had missed it. Ron... and Black it seemed.

"That is a fair question. Sirius, how could you have known?" Lupin asked.

"The day before I broke out, I asked for a copy of the daily prophet. I saw a picture of Harry, John and Ron, all posing with their pets, after news got out about the Chamber of Secrets debacle. I recognized Peter immediately. How many times had I seen him transform? And he's missing a toe. A toe on front and left hand, corresponding with a human index finger." said Sirius.

"Merlin... he cut it off himself then? The day you confronted him?" Lupin asked, going pale.

"I'd stake my life on it. In fact, I'm doing that right now." said Sirius.

That remark would have been funny had this situation not been so serious.

"So what about his bloody toe?" Ron asked.

"Ron, didn't you hear? The biggest part of Pettigrew they could find was his index finger from his left hand." said Lupin.

"And how long has that rat been in your family?" Black asked.

"T-twelve years." Ron said. He seemed convinced.

It still sounded ridiculous... but it was making more and more sense by the minute. If word got out about this, the ministry's decision to send Black to Azkaban would certainly have a profound effect upon the justice system in wizarding Britain. Though only if Black and Lupin were telling the truth.

"You know, your cat... Crookshanks, did you call him? He plays into this as well." said Black.

"How?" Hermione asked.

"He is the most intelligent of his kind I've ever seen. I think he's got at least some kneazle blood in him. He recognized Peter for what he was immediately. He tried to bring him to me, but apparently, Peter bit himself to get blood on your bedsheets. So then I got Crookshanks to steal passwords on a piece of paper to the Gryffindor tower." said Black, stroking a purring Crookshanks.

Harry's brain began to hurt with the amount of bombshells of information being dropped straight onto his head.

But out of nowhere, faking his death twice seemed to make sense on Pettigrew's part to Harry. Black was the secret keeper for his parents.

"Why wouldn't he fake his death! You were after him! YOU WERE THE SECRET KEEPER AND YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!" Harry bellowed.

"Harry... I as good as killed them. At the last minute, I convinced Lily and James to switch secret keepers to Peter. I know it's my fault. The night they died, I'd arranged to check in on Peter to make sure he was safe, but he wasn't there, and there wasn't any sign of a struggle. I immediately knew what he'd done... what I'd done." said Black.

Harry's face softened. Every part of their story logically followed. It certainly followed better than a trusted best friend who suddenly turned to Voldemort's side with no sign previously shown.

"Enough of this! There's only one way to prove it. Ron, hand him over." said Lupin.

"What are you going to do?" Ron asked. It seemed more out of curiosity than anything else. He seemed convinced that he was holding an animagus.

"I will force him to show himself. If he really is a rat, then nothing will happen." said Lupin.

Ron handed the rat over to Lupin.

"John, may I have my wand back?" Lupin asked.

John nodded and handed over Lupin's wand.

"Sirius, hold him. One... two... three!"

After a blinding flash of blue light, Scabbers froze in mid-air for a second and fell to the floor with a small thud. But then something happened that somewhat reminded Harry of watching a time lapse video of a growing plant of some sort. A head erupted from the rat, then human limbs, indeed with the missing finger, and eventually, the form of Peter Pettigrew as a human showed itself.

He was very short, hardly taller than Harry, Hermione or Delilah, and not anywhere near as tall as Ron, not even as tall as John either. He had watery, small blue eyes, and had the shrivelled appearance of a formerly plump man who had lost a lot of weight in an unhealthy manner in very little time. His hair was thin, and had no notable colour to speak of, and he had a bald patch as well. Even in human form, something about him looked rat-like.

Lupin spoke in a very pleasant voice, as if rats transforming into old school friends and betrayers of families was commonplace. But the fact that he was speaking in such a pleasant voice was absolutely terrifying, especially to Pettigrew himself.

"Well... hello Peter."


	14. The truth will set him free

**First big point of divergence from canon starts in this chapter :) Also, I decided to use my personal vision of what a werewolf looks like.**

"Remus? Sirius... my old friends!" said Pettigrew. His voice was even squeaky. He seemed unable to be rid of his rat-like characteristics.

"We've been having a little chat Peter. Perhaps you missed the minutiae of the conversation, squeaking around as you were. About how Lily and James died." said Lupin.

"Y-you can't believe him, can you? He tried to kill me Remus!" said Pettigrew.

"So we've heard. But rest assured that no one here will try to kill you until some things have been sorted out." said Lupin, giving Black a pointed look.

"Sorted things out? He escaped from Azkaban to come after me!" said Pettigrew fearfully.

"Why have you been living in hiding as a rat for so long though? Even before he broke out?" Delilah asked.

"He has powers! Dark powers that the dark lord must have taught him!" said Pettigrew.

"Voldemort? Teaching me tricks?" Black said, letting out some bitter laughter.

Pettigrew flinched visibly.

"Scared to hear your old master's name? I don't blame you... his lot aren't very happy with you, are they?" Black asked.

"You knew Sirius would break out of Azkaban eleven years before he did it? I don't think so. You were hiding from Voldemort's followers. You sent their master to the place where he fell. Naturally, they're furious with you." said Lupin.

"True... innocent men don't spend so long living as a rat." said Black, narrowing his eyes. He was crouching over as if ready to pounce on him like a predator after its prey.

"Innocent! But scared! If his followers were after me, it's because I put one of their best spies in Azkaban!" Pettigrew said.

"How dare you! Me? A spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were more powerful than me? Dolohov? Bellatrix Lestrange? Voldemort himself? No... I fought them head on! But you were different, weren't you? You always wanted bigger and badder friends to be around. It was once James, Remus and me. You just traded up for the bigger, badder bullies in the playground!" Black growled.

"Me... a spy, you're talking absolute- Complete..." Pettigrew stuttered.

"Lily and James made you the secret keeper because it was my idea. I thought it was a perfect plan, a real double bluff. Voldemort might suspect me as the secret keeper. He'd probably suspect Remus too. But why you? A weak, talentless worm like yourself? It must have been your proudest moment in your pathetic existence when you told Voldemort that you could hand him the Potters!" Black added.

Pettigrew was muttering words like 'lunacy' or 'madness' or 'lies', but it was obvious that his face was becoming increasingly white, and his eyes were darting around the room.

"Professor... can I say something?" Hermione asked timidly.

"Of course." said Lupin courteously.

"If... this man has been in the same dorm as Harry, then why didn't he try anything? Harry had been sleeping so often, left in a vulnerable state night after night." said Hermione.

"There! You see? I'd never harm a hair on Harry's head!" Pettigrew said, latching onto whatever he could.

"I'll tell you why. You never did anything for someone else unless it held benefits for yourself. You wouldn't risk attacking the most famous young wizard alive for a powerless Voldemort. No... you wanted him to be the strongest option before you risked your own filthy skin." Black snarled.

"Err... Mr. Black? Sirius?" Hermione asked.

Black looked at Hermione in shock. He wasn't used to being addressed so politely.

"How did you escape from Azkaban then? With no dark magic?" She asked.

"Thank you! Exactly what-"Pettigrew started, but Lupin's glare shut him up immediately.

"I don't really know to be honest. I know I'd lost a lot of weight, and I knew that I was innocent. That wasn't a happy memory, but the fact that I knew I was innocent gave me something resembling hope. It kept me sane, that was for sure. When I saw the picture of Harry and John in the paper, and I read about what they did, I knew I had to get out and do something... and I just sort of had a stroke of genius. I transformed into the dog, because dementors can't sense them, and the ministry didn't know about that. I was thin enough to slip through the bars, and well... here I am I suppose." said Black.

"That makes a lot of sense..." said John.

"You should know by the way, the anonymous donation that allowed for muggle sports? That was me." said Black, smiling.

Ron and John in particular looked as Black in awe.

"But what's important is this. Maybe it's my fault that James and Lily are dead, but I'd never betray them. If Voldemort got to me, I'd have willingly died. James and Lily, and you two of course were my family... I would never see myself as worth more." said Black.

Finally... everyone believed him.

"No!" Pettigrew cried, falling to his knees.

"You can't kill me Remus, Sirius! I'm your friend!" he begged, crawling towards them.

"My robes are filthy enough without your slimy hands over them." Black said, lazily kicking him away.

"Ron! haven't I been a good pet? You wouldn't let them kill me, I was your rat! I was good!" he tried.

"If you were a better rat than human, that's not much to boast about." Lupin said.

Pettigrew still crawled towards Ron.

"I let you sleep in my bed!" Ron yelled.

"You lay a hand on Ron again... you lose the hand." John snarled.

Harry's stomach lurched. He forgot how scary John was when he got angry. His dark side was not to be trifled with.

"B-but... John, your dad! He would have spared me! He would have shown me mercy!" Pettigrew sniveled.

"DON'T YOU DARE! DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO JOHN ABOUT JAMES!" Sirius roared.

He and Lupin grabbed onto him by the shoulders and shoved him into a corner.

"You should have realized Peter! If Voldemort didn't kill you, then we would! Together!" Lupin yelled.

"NO!" John shouted suddenly.

"John... you know what this filthy waste of oxygen did to you? His stinking skin meant more to him than your entire family! Not just your family either... innocent lives across the country!" Lupin said.

"We know what he is. We need to take him back to the castle." said Harry.

Pettigrew looked relieved beyond imagination, and made moves towards Harry, but he was swiftly interrupted by John's fist. John punched Pettigrew so hard that the room was filled with a sickening crunch. He'd broken at least two or three of his ribs. Pettigrew was hit so hard in fact, that the punch sent him back a few feet, before he doubled over onto the floor, coughing and wheezing in pain. He coughed up a few drops of blood too.

"You're going to the castle so that the dementors can have you. I want you rotting in Azkaban for the rest of your fucking life. And remember... give me a reason, and I'll be sending you there in pieces." John growled. Pettigrew, still struggling to breathe, nodded.

"Jesus Christ..." Delilah whispered. She'd never seen John in this state before. No one had. There was a crazed look of blinding rage in his eyes, he was shaking with his fury, and his anger seemed to make his already large muscles swell before their eyes.

"John..." Lupin said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I know. I'm not going to kill him. But by God I want to..." John said, gritting his teeth.

"That was noble of you. He doesn't deserve it." said Sirius.

"Neither of us think our dad will have wanted his best friends to become killers. And even if you forget that... if he dies, the truth dies with him. John said Sirius never had a trial. Twelve years late is better than never." said Harry, reasonably.

Hermione stepped forwards.

"So how do we play this out? We have to take him to the castle, under severe protection, and we also have to get Professor Snape." said Hermione.

"Peter. Transform. Now." said Lupin.

Pettigrew complied in spite of his pain, and Lupin picked him up immediately.

" _Accio cage_." said Lupin, flicking his wand.

The youngsters looked at him quizzically.

"It's a summoning spell. Any moment... aha!" said Lupin, as a small cage, just big enough to fit a rat inside flew through the window.

Lupin stuffed Pettigrew into the cage and locked it.

"He's not getting out of that. If he transforms, he gets crushed to death." Lupin explained.

"John, could I borrow your wand for a moment?" Sirius asked. John handed him his wand.

" _Mobilicorpus."_ said Sirius, before handing John back his wand.

Snape's unconscious body was raised slightly off the ground.

"Keep your wand pointed at him, and his body will follow you along." Sirius explained.

"That's ridiculously cool." said John.

"And what about Ron's leg?" Hermione asked.

Lupin muttered a few spells and put Ron's leg in a crude splint.

"I'm not much of a healer. He needs to get to Madame Pomfrey." said Lupin.

Ron nodded and gingerly stood up with John's help. Sirius held onto the cage, and with Snape's floating body in tow, they all left the tunnel.

"I don't know if anyone told you this. But your parents named me as your godfather Harry." said Sirius.

"Yeah, I knew." said Harry.

"Well... they also named me as your guardian. When my name is cleared I might get that back. I'd understand if you and John wanted to stay with your aunt and uncle, but... if you wanted a different home..." said Sirius.

"Are you mad? Of course we want to leave! Do you have a house? Could we get Delilah too?" John asked.

By this time, they had left the tunnel and had reached fresh air.

But fresh air, unlike normal, did not constitute safety or comfort. As soon as Lupin left the tunnel, he began to shake violently.

"No... he's not safe! He's transforming!" John yelled.

"Run! All of you! John, keep your wand on Snape, leave it to me!" Sirius shouted.

Sirius vanished and immediately transformed into the gigantic bear-like dog, and immediately rushed over to Lupin, who was shaking more violently and starting to sprout hair. Before their eyes, his bones started crunching sickeningly, and they began to lengthen, and he next hunched over, screaming all the way through the changes. The cage holding Pettigrew was dropped on the floor.

Lupin collapsed to the floor, and moments later, arose a werewolf. It was seven feet tall at least, incredibly muscular, built something like a man, but with a tail, wolf-like head, and clawed hands and feet. It stood on two legs, and as soon as it spotted the nearby humans, Sirius pounced onto him, and dragged him away, and this triggered a spectacular, and yet terrifying battle between the two gigantic canids.

The youngsters ran as fast as they could, which wasn't saying a lot, due to Ron's leg.

John looked back and saw Sirius, staggering around in human form, with a massive gash across his chest.

"Sirius! Ron, stay here with Snape!" John said, immediately sprinting after him. Harry followed immediately, and Hermione and Delilah did so reluctantly.

When they caught up to Sirius, they found him unconscious at the edge of the forbidden forest, but a horrible and familiar cold, feeling of dread washed over them. They instinctively looked up, expecting to see up to two dementors, but their hearts dropped when they saw dozens of the evil creatures hovering, and descending ominously upon Sirius.

"Think of something really happy! Now!" John roared.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry and John yelled in unison. Their patronuses duly erupted from their wands, forming the shields they had already managed in Lupin's classes.

Any time a dementor got close, John's patronus would swipe at it with the massive clawed paw as it did earlier, and Harry's would occasionally let out the pulses of energy.

"Help us!" Harry yelled.

Delilah and Hermione kept trying to repeat the incantation, but nothing came from their wands.

With absolute horror, Harry and John watched their patronuses flicker, and fade away into nothing.

The screaming of their parents came next. John could hear James, Harry could hear Lily, and while they were hearing it, they saw the blackening images of the raspy breathing dementors descending upon them. But something else happened. They looked into the distance, and saw two figures, casting some form of immense silver energy, and the dementors were being driven off. Harry briefly thought he was seeing double... was he looking at his father... appearing twice at once? But he couldn't dwell on it as everything went black.

* * *

The scene at the hospital wing when they came to was a chaotic mess of arguments until Dumbledore came in and asked to speak to Harry, Hermione, Delilah, John and Ron alone.

"It was Pettigrew, he was pretending to be my family's rat the whole time-"

"Cut off his finger-"

"Betrayed my parents-"

"He cast the blasting curse to kill those muggles-"

Dumbledore put up his hand.

"You sound earnest. I have spoken to Black, and he seems earnest. But you need proof." said Dumbledore.

"The cage holding Pettigrew was dropped... somewhere on the school grounds!" John said.

"But we don't know if it's still there, or if he still is..." said Delilah.

Dumbledore turned to Hermione.

"Miss Granger. I think a certain possession of yours would come in particularly useful if Black truly is innocent. You know the rules. You must not be seen." said Dumbledore, who gave them a curt nod and left without another word.

"What the bloody hell..." Ron started.

"He means the 'necklace' I got at the start of the year Ron. You can't walk, but we'll sort this out." said Hermione.

"What? No, I've got to help!" Ron insisted.

"You can't. We have to move fast and stealthily. With your leg in that state it's not possible." said Hermione.

Ron sighed.

"Just... be careful alright?" Ron said. He clearly didn't like the concept of not being there to support his friends.

Hermione motioned for Delilah, Harry and John to get close to her as she wrapped the chain on the time-turner around the four of them. She turned the small medallion piece in the middle three times, and what happened next looked... bizarre to say the least, for John, Harry and Delilah.

It was as if they were waching a rewinding video tape... from the inside. They could see themselves being taken to hospital wing beds, the Minister's discussions, and other students walking in and out of the hospital wing, though in reverse.

They felt rather dizzy when the process stopped.

"So... that's time travel." John said, shaking his head to try and get over the disorientation.

"Do you get used to that feeling in your head?" Delilah asked, sounding very out of it.

"Yes. You'll be fine in a few seconds, and I got used to it within a few days, to the point where it doesn't happen to me any more." said Hermione.

"So what do we do?" Harry asked.

"Seven thirty... where were we at seven thirty?" Hermione asked.

"Probably heading to Hagrid's." said John.

"OK... we have to follow ourselves. But we absolutely can't be seen, under any circumstances. Remember, we need to grab the cage with Pettigrew." said Hermione, as they set off towards Hagrid's at a run.

"But why would Dumbledore ask us to go back this damn far then?" John asked, as they ran.

"Don't know. We'll figure that out soon enough I imagine." said Hermione, who was starting to breathe heavily as she ran.

She lead the others on a very long, deliberate route around the back of the route they would normally take to Hagrid's hut, as Hermione knew that the were using the cloak at the time, and there was no way of knowing where they were at the time. Hermione chose a spot behind Hagrid's hut, at the edge of the forbidden forest to wait it out while their other selves had their conversation with Hagrid.

"Wait a minute... I know why Dumbledore asked us to go back here!" Delilah whispered from behind her tree.

The other three immediately looked at her questioningly.

Delilah grinned and pointed at Buckbeak, who was tethered to a post nearby.

"Of course! Harry, Buckbeak will probably remember you! You bow to him and coax him away, I'll untie him!" said John.

"But... I remember looking outside the window! We have to do something about that!" said Delilah.

Hermione looked very intently at the window in question. It wasn't the window they saw the minister through. With a wave of her wand, she closed it.

"We can't mess with things too much. Awful things happen to wizards and witches who meddle with time." Hermione warned.

The others nodded, and John got to work at untying Buckbeak, whilst Harry bowed to Buckbeak, who returned his bow as he did back in September. John started gently tugging on Buckbeak's rope, but Buckbeak simply lazily sat on his spot. John pulled harder, without yanking it, two which Buckbeak responded with what appeared to be mild annoyance.

"How are we supposed to rescue something that weighs more than half a bloody tonne?" John asked.

Delilah had the answer. She had grabbed a belt with five or six dead ferrets which Hagrid likely used to feed Buckbeak.

"Here Buckbeak! Come here, I've got some food for you!" she called.

Buckbeak cocked his head, and showed interest in the food, and finally, he stood up and followed Delilah, who threw one to him, and quickly stepped back behind the trees. Buckbeak followed, and soon enough, they all found themselves hidden within the forbidden forest.

"What now?" Harry asked.

"We wait. We'll have to keep an eye out for that cage, and we have to wait for Sirius." said Hermione.

The four of them stayed silent for a moment.

"I think I saw my dad." said Harry.

"What?" Delilah asked. She was looking at Harry very worriedly.

"I know how it sounds. Plus, I saw two of him, maybe it was because I was dizzy at the time. It was when the dementors were attacking us." said Harry.

"Err... why didn't any of us see him?" John asked.

"Don't know. Maybe you were looking in another direction. But he was the one who sent them away. With that massive patronus." said Harry.

"But Harry... your dad's..." Hermione started.

"I know, he's dead. It's just... what I saw. I know I look just like him and the figures I saw across the way... Well they looked just like me, so... yeah." Harry finished lamely.

"I suppose that will solve itself when the time comes." said John.

"You know, when we were walking through the tunnels, Sirius was talking about us coming to live with him." Harry said.

"What? That's great!" Delilah said.

"We're thinking of a way to get you to come too you know?" John said encouragingly.

"You don't have to. Sirius is your legal guardian, not mine." said Delilah.

"Yeah, but I'm not leaving you at Privet drive. If you can't come with us, then I'm not leaving Privet Drive, plain and simple." said John.

Delilah managed to hold back her tears.

"Oh John..." she said.

Hermione found herself staying silent awkwardly. Being an only child, she didn't truly know what such a relationship would be like. She had an idea, given how close her friendship with the three people in front of her, and Ron was, but she didn't have first-hand experience. Though perhaps if their combined friendship stayed strong for years to come, she could learn?

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." she said, finally.

"Huh?" John asked.

"All of that comes later. We have to make sure the dementors don't get to Sirius, grab Pettigrew's cage, and bring it to Dumbledore or Fudge first." said Hermione.

"Ah. Yeah. Any ideas on that by the way?" Harry asked.

"Simple. The cage got abandoned once Professor Lupin transformed. He was just lying there, even as we woke up at the hospital wing." said Delilah.

"Fair enough. Oh, this is going to be easy." said John.

"Don't get cocky. All sorts of things could still go wrong." said Hermione.

"We're picking up an unattended cage..." said John.

"Whilst a werewolf is running around." Delilah pointed out.

"He went into the forest, and the cage was dropped nowhere near the forest. Honestly, we'll be fine." said John.

* * *

The wait, in spite of being no more than approximately an hour and a half, felt like days, due in no small part to the fact that they were trying to right a wrong that had destroyed a man's life unjustly, and that they knew exactly what was going on through the tunnel they were watching. Buckbeak was galloping around the area not far from them, as he obviously felt some form of attachment to Harry.

When they saw themselves come out of the tunnel, they immediately sprang to their feet. Delilah tied Buckbeak to a tree, and Harry told Buckbeak that they'd be back soon. They crept up on themselves, and watched as Lupin transformed into the werewolf. It was a bizarre experience, watching something that they themselves had experienced, but from the outside. It felt like they were walking around inside their own memories.

They cringed when they watched the werewolf land a huge slashing blow on Sirius' chest with its great, clawed hand, but forced themselves not to intervene.

Once they watched the two dogs run away, followed by their other selves, Harry made moves towards Pettigrew's cage.

"Wait!" Delilah said.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Pettigrew would get suspicious - he just saw us run away! Plus, Ron's there!" said Delilah.

"Right... what do we do about Ron?" John asked.

"We should wait to grab Pettigrew! Wait until we're all taken to the hospital wing by Snape. Before that, we have to make sure your dad... or whoever saves us at the dementors." Delilah explained.

John cast a dirty look towards the cage holding Pettigrew. He hated having to wait before he got his hands on him, but Delilah was not wrong at all.

"Fine. Let's go." said John, and the four of them set off to watch what was hopefully, some phantom apparition of James Potter.

They watched in horror as the dementors menacingly floated down, and Harry and John's barely competent patronuses warded off dementors only one at a time.

"We're dying..." Hermione said, softly, watching herself struggling to stay on her own two feet.

Suddenly, Everything made sense to Harry. His dad was dead. He and John looked identical to him. They were able to be in two places at once. They knew how to cast patronuses, and he knew they could cast one strong enough to drive all of those dementors away! They already had!

He looked at John, who seemed to have worked it out for himself too, and they nodded at each other. They leapt forwards, and took out their wands.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

And as they had suspected, patronuses were cast, but they could hardly believe their eyes when enormous pulses of silver energy erupted from their wands, blasting dementors away five at a time. More incredibly still, was that they realized that the pulses of energy were not coming from their wands. They looked out in front of them, and there stood two animals.

Opposite Harry was a large, silvery stag, which began to charge down the dementors, just as Lupin said.

Meanwhile, a gigantic grizzly bear was doing the same thing, under John's command. Before they knew it, all of the dementors had cleared off, and the two animals walked slowly over to their masters, as if greeting old friends. Harry reached out to try and touch the stag, but it vanished as his hand got close enough to do so.

"Prongs..." said John, once his bear had vanished, looking Harry in the eye.

It all made sense. Wormtail was a nod to the worm-like tail that rats had. Padfoot referred to Sirius' padded dog feet, moony was of course alluding to Lupin's lycanthropy, and Prongs... James Potter's animagus form was a stag.

It was such basic and in the bigger picture, meaningless information about their father. And yet... it felt like one of the most important things they'd ever learned.

And what did John's patronus mean? Why was his not a stag as well? Given what they'd been told, John was in essence, James Potter incarnate. But the bear must have meant something. Strength? Obviously. But what else?

Hermione and Delilah looked on, flabbergasted at what had just unfolded.

"H-h...how did you..." Hermione stuttered.

"We knew we could do it because... we'd already done it. I saw _us_ conjuring the patronuses, not my dad whilst seeing double!" Harry explained.

"I've never seen anything like that... It was... actually quite beautiful." said Delilah.

"I kind of get what you mean. Those animals were not difficult to admire." John mused. He and Harry both looked slightly shaken by the power of the patronuses they'd just conjured. Delilah and Hermione were surveying the brothers with odd, proud expressions.

"Hey, that's Snape! He must have got Ron already, let's grab Pettigrew!" Hermione said, pointing at the spot where their unconscious selves lay.

* * *

Pettigrew's cage was grabbed without a hitch, and he was brought immediately to the hospital wing, moments after their younger selves used the time-turner.

"You did it! Blimey, did I miss anything big?" Ron asked, upon seeing them.

"You have no idea..." Delilah said, thinking of the patronuses.

"Wait a second... shouldn't you be heading up to where they're holding him?" Ron asked.

"Err... yeah." said John, who without another word, lead the others, minus Ron of course up to the tower in which Sirius was being held.

The minister was stood there, along with Dumbledore. Sirius was curled up into a fetal position in the corner.

"Minister! We have the proof! Sirius is innocent!" Hermione immediately yelled upon their reaching the area.

"How did you-" Fudge started. Clearly he thought they should all still be inside the hospital wing.

"Doesn't matter. Professor, if I open this cage... Professor Lupin did this spell to force him back into a human form, do you know it too?" John asked.

"Certainly. Please proceed." said Dumbledore, taking his wand out.

Sirius could hardly believe his eyes. Was this a dream? Was any of this even possible? Everything seemed so... dead set when they first sent him away to Azkaban, and yet, here he was, standing in front of Pettigrew, with Harry and John, no less, proving his innocence. If James was alive, there would be no end to the pride he'd have felt for the accomplishments of his sons.

John opened the cage, and as the rat flopped out, onto the floor, Dumbledore cast the spell, and as before, Pettigrew was forced into his human form.

"Peter Pettigrew!" The minister yelled.

"P-Professor... he-" Pettigrew started.

"Minister, I rather think that a liberal application of veritaserum would shed some light on this debacle, don't you?" Dumbledore asked, in an odd, formal tone.

The minister took a few seconds for Dumbledore's words to settle in, but he regained his composure.

"Err... yes, I think that would be best. Does Professor Snape have some?" The minister asked.

"Naturally." said Dumbledore.

"B-but... please! You have to listen! You-" Pettigrew begged.

"We will. We'll be listening to the truth. That's sort of the point of veritaserum Peter. Didn't you pay attention in potions?" Sirius taunted.

"But what is this supposed truth?" the minister asked.

In spite of themselves, John, Hermione, Delilah and Harry all started laughing.

"You explain it." Hermione said, grinning at John once she'd stopped laughing.


	15. The start of something

News always spread fast within the wizarding world, in spite of their lack of televised, easily accessible news. They were a gossipy bunch. Naturally, the news that Sirius Black was innocent after all, as found by the trial he was denied all those years ago, and the real culprit was posing as a rat was all over the daily prophet, and all anyone could talk about two days after Harry, Hermione, Ron, Delilah and John themselves were the first to find out the truth.

"You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?" Katie asked John at breakfast that morning.

"You get one guess." John replied, wryly.

But all the noise accumulated by the gossip at the great hall couldn't compare to Mrs. Weasley's reaction when she and Mr. Weasley were brought in for their explanation.

"HE WAS IN OUR HOUSE! WE HAVE SEVEN CHILDREN!" she roared.

"Molly, your children have all been contacted, none of them reported anything unusual." said Dumbledore.

"MEMORY CHARMS EXIST YOU KNOW! IF I FIND OUT THAT HE LAID A FINGER ON ANY OF MY CHILDREN-" she continued.

"He was subjected to veritaserum. No remotely harmful acts were done whilst he was posing as your pet." Dumbledore assured her.

"Professor... haven't there been articles questioning the reliability of veritaserum?" Mr. Weasley asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yes. But they have been discredited. I promise you, your children were not directly harmed by Pettigrew. Ronald is making a speedy recovery as we speak, and the situation is under control." said Dumbledore.

It took Mrs. Weasley a further five minutes to finally calm down, before Harry and John were given documents offering them the chance to live with Sirius as their legal guardian.

What came as a bigger shock though, was that Delilah also received one. Apparently, Sirius talked to the Dursleys (and somehow kept a level head during that conversation), and got them to agree about Delilah. The official document said that given that she was Harry and John's cousin, and that she was magical, a magical guardian was always an option for her upbringing.

If it were one year ago, Delilah would have felt devastated that her parents would have given her up so easily, but now, it barely bothered her. Antonio tried to probe her on whether any residual familial issues remained, but she silenced him with a firm 'I really don't care', and a swift snog, which he predictably reciprocated.

It would be almost a month before the term finally ended, giving Sirius time to properly recover before taking the role of a legal guardian.

But everything was not a fairytale ending, with everything wrapped up in a neat little bow. Katie told John that Lupin was leaving.

"What?" he asked.

"He told us this morning. He's a werewolf, and he wants to resign so that angry letters from ignorant parents don't flood Dumbledore's office." Katie said, bitterly.

"Ignorant is fucking right, he's the best teacher I've had, and that includes bloody McGonagall!" John replied.

"I know you and Harry... I guess the word is bonded with him in some way. Do you want to go and see him?" Katie asked softly.

"Well... I said I'd spend the day with you, but... are you sure?" John asked.

"Absolutely. You might not ever see him again, you deserve to at least say goodbye to him." Katie said, putting her hand on John's massive forearm.

"Yeah. You know, that thought is pretty upsetting. I'll see you soon, alright?" John replied.

Katie smiled. She knew that John was sorely lacking a father figure, and for someone as masculine by nature as John, that was a severe handicap. Lupin at least partially filled that void.

"Just go. I'll be here when you get back." she said.

John nodded, and notified Harry, Ron, Delilah and Hermione of the situation. They reacted similarly, and before they knew it, they found themselves rushing as fast as Ron's crutches would permit to Lupin's office.

"Professor! We just heard you're leaving!" Harry said immediately, upon arriving.

Lupin was indeed, packing away his things, preparing for a departure.

"I'm afraid so. This time tomorrow morning, Hogwarts will be buried under a series of angry letters." said Lupin.

"Which idiot thought it was a good idea to let your secret out?" John asked.

"It was professor Snape. Apparently, he took the loss of induction into the order of Merlin rather hard." said Lupin, with something of an ironic smile. He didn't seem too badly affected by the situation, which baffled them all. He seemed to love teaching.

"You're the best teacher we've ever had! This isn't fair!" Ron insisted.

"What about Professor Dumbledore? Can't he explain-"Delilah started.

"Dumbledore has done far more than enough for me. Let's just say that people like me... well, we're used to it." said Lupin.

"You shouldn't have to be used to it!" Hermione replied angrily.

"But such is the world we live in. There is still a debate on whether or not we should live in segregated societies, so for me to even teach at a place like this... well I should be grateful." said Lupin.

That statement made the youngsters sick to their stomachs. Grateful? For someone who was fully qualified to work a job which he deserved? Grateful, in spite of the fact that he was kicked out of that job for circumstances out of his control?

"I know what you're thinking. Believe me, I have prepared for this potential... eventuality. Severus may have let my secret out, but he at least made enough wolfsbane to last me a year. That means that my medical costs will be next to nothing. Furthermore, I have been setting aside any money I acquired for years." said Lupin.

"Yeah, but Snape also cost you your job. You know what? Write Sirius. Come live with us." said John.

"I couldn't. Sirius will have his hands full enough as it is." said Lupin.

"But he doesn't need to do anything. All you need to do is remember your potion!" said Harry.

Lupin looked pensive for a moment.

"I'll think about it. But all that aside, if I feel acomplished in any way, I certainly feel a great deal of pride in how much all five of you have learned this year. Both in terms of Defence against the dark arts, and developing as people. I know that for you, Harry, John in particular, this year will have been something of an emotional roller coaster." said Lupin, knowingly.

That was an understatement.

"Also, since I am no longer your professor, I feel no regret in handing this back to you." said Lupin, handing Harry the marauder's map.

Harry took it, feeling slightly numb.

"You once said that the makers of the map would have waned to lure me out of the castle... said that they'd have found it funny." said Harry.

"And so we would have." said Lupin, smiling.

"I know you were our teacher and all... but I hate the idea that this is the last time we'll see you." said Ron.

"Oh, I have a feeling that our paths will cross again, whether or not I decide to live with Sirius and you two in the end. And there is one last thing I should disclose. Perhaps I should have told you in the shrieking shack, but I didn't feel that it was the right moment. This, I feel is a better one, given that I am no longer your teacher." said Lupin.

The youngsters looked at Lupin intently.

"John, I wasn't allowed to be named as your legal guardian due to werewolf regulations, but I was named your godfather." said Lupin, giving John one of the most heartfelt smiles he'd ever seen.

John stood there, stunned for a moment. Harry, Delilah, Ron and Hermione looked at him to gauge his reaction.

"Well then..." he said, simply, causing the others to laugh.

That did about sum up the whole situation.

"For what it's worth, this year, having got to know you two, I do find it interesting, how Sirius is Harry's godfather, and how I am yours John. Given that you act far more like a youthful Sirius, and you Harry, act far more like I did." said Lupin, smiling in a nostalgic way.

"You know what? I don't think that really matters. You and Sirius are just family, and that's that. At least, that's how I see it." said John.

"I agree wholeheartedly. Now I hope you don't mind that I ask you to leave. I have a lot to do." said Lupin.

"Goodbye professor." said Hermione.

"Until our next meeting." said Lupin, giving his trademark, knowing smile.

* * *

Harry had one final talk with Professor Dumbledore a while later, one which warmed his heart. He talked of how he thought his father drove the dementors away, and how he found out that it was himself and John all along. He told Dumbledore how he felt that if it were truly his father, he would have felt happier about it all, but Dumbledore told Harry how Prongs did indeed ride again that night, through Harry himself and John, regardless of the bear-form that John's patronus took.

Neither he, nor John could avoid the prolonged looks in the great hall or the corridors, a formerly convicted mass murderer, now proven innocent was their godfather, and everyone knew it. But neither Harry nor John seemed too greatly affected. Granted, they'd absolutely be affected when Sirius would be the one picking them up from King's Cross, as opposed to the Dursleys, but they went about their daily business as normal.

John, to everyone's shock, didn't freak out when Katie told him that they'd made it four months with their relationship. In fact, he just pointed out that Delilah's relationship had been going strong for seven.

Harry tried talking to Cho, but (as John eloquently put it), decided to pussy out. John and Ron of course, laughed their heads off.

But the last truly memorable thing to happen was the letter that Achilles, John's owl dropped off on the last morning.

It was from Lupin.

 _John, Harry and Delilah,  
_ _(And likely Ron and Hermione)_

 _I have discussed your proposal to live with you with Sirius at length. In all honesty, I never felt like I deserved to live in a comfortable home, surrounded by friendly faces, due simply to the fact that I am dangerous. But Sirius decided to hammer home the fact that I have access to wolfsbane for a year, and that Sirius had inherited the Black family fortune, which is to be quite frank, in practice, unlimited money, if not in name. There isn't any way for him to spend it all. It took some convincing, but he got me to agree to living with you. I pointed the option of moving into his old family home out to him, but he vehemently disagreed. I can't blame him. Perhaps we'll take you there some day, and you too will understand why._

 _Instead, he decided to buy a rather nice house in muggle London. He got some of his money converted and opened a muggle bank account. It's not exactly a mansion, but it's not a regular house either. It's certainly a very, very nice place to live. Plenty of space, enough rooms for all of us, and it's relatively close to a great deal of things to do within London. Also, you get to see a one hundred per cent tame wolf once a month. My 'furry little problem' as Sirius dubbed it won't be a genuine problem ever again, and I have to thank you for it. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you in all honesty._

 _One thing absolutely worth noting is that Sirius has started tracking down his old flame. She is a muggle woman whom Sirius met a long time ago, when he was in a particularly dark place. That's what he'll be doing before getting his old job back._

 _Looking forward to our next meeting,_

 _Remus._

 _(Yes, you can start calling me Remus)_

"Holy shit..." said Ron.

"This is wonderful! You three absolutely deserve it!" Hermione said, brightly.

"I... I guess so... I can't believe it." said Harry, dumbstruck.

It had finally hit them that they were leaving the Dursleys, and they would be living a more free life, with people who cared about them.

* * *

Winning the house cup that year didn't feel as fulfilling as last year, though that was mostly due to the fact that they had bigger things to be happy about that year. Between Katie's promise to get John to meet her parents, and Antonio gleefully saying that Delilah meeting his parents would certainly piss them off, they also had plenty to look forward to, even outside living in an expensive London house with Sirius and Remus.

The train journey, for the first time they could remember, was not spent with the five of them together. John and Katie had snuck off to do god knows what, as had Delilah and Antonio. Harry, Ron and Hermione spent most of the train journey playing exploding snap, and Sirius sent a letter explaining how he was the one who sent the firebolt, along with a lot of grateful sentiments. Also, Ron got to keep the tiny owl which he used to send it.

At King's Cross, Ron mentioned how the Quidditch World cup would soon start, and they could all go together if enough tickets could be acquired.

The time in between leaving King's Cross and arriving at the new London house seemed to blur into nothing, and Harry, John and Delilah barely remembered any of it.

Even when they'd unpacked in their very own rooms, they still felt somewhat dazed, as if unable to believe that this was actually happening.

But the next morning, whilst Harry, John and Delilah had a relatively normal morning talking to and hanging out with Remus, Sirius had one of the most important 'errands' of his life to run. He had found Lauren.

He of course, had to tell Harry, Delilah and John about it all first.

"So what do you think? Should I go and see her?" he asked.

"Of course! Even if she's moved on and everything, she deserves to know that you're... you." said Delilah.

"Plus, anything that can make you forget about being stuck around dementors for over a damn decade is a good idea." said John.

"You should know though... you three are the priority." said Sirius.

"We know. But come on, that doesn't mean you don't get a life of your own." said Harry, encouragingly.

"Well if you're sure... I'll see you when I get back." said Sirius, smiling at the youngsters.

He apparated to the block of flats she was at, and immediately noted that it looked rather dingy. Looking through the names on the front, he found the name he wanted, Lauren James.

He rung her personal bell and waited for an answer.

"Hello?" came the familiar voice which made Sirius' stomach flip. That voice which had comforted him and got him through the worst period of his youth before he lived with the Potters...

In the time since he first found Harry and John, which was now over a month ago, he'd regained a lot of weight, but he wasn't the same, muscular, confident young man he once was. Looking in the mirror that morning, he was not repelled by his reflection though. His face was handsome again, in spite of the slightly haunted look in his stormy grey eyes, not sunken and waxy. His skin had regained some colour, and his hair and beard were now properly groomed, and his teeth whitened.

"H-hello. It's... it's Sirius." said Sirius nervously.

"W-what? No... it can't be!" replied Lauren.

"It is. You heard about me being innocent... right?" Sirius asked.

"I did... but it's almost impossible to-never mind, come up!" she said.

Sirius' stomach gave another lurch as he opened the door and climbed the many stairs to Lauren's flat. She was waiting in the open door. He didn't know how it was possible. She was as beautiful as she was twelve years ago. Her long, shiny black hair was as thick as ever, her eyes as bright and blue as the sky, and her face as full of life as he remembered. Sirius could tell that she'd aged, but she hadn't grown any less beautiful at all.

"I can't believe it's really you." she said, staring at her former lover, afraid to physically act.

Sirius looked down at his feet.

"I would've come to you sooner after my innocence was proven... but I've been... busy to say the least." said Sirius.

"Of course, don't worry, I understand. Where are my manners? Please, come in!" said Lauren, motioning for Sirius to come into her flat.

It was a small flat, and obviously not worth a lot of money. But it was clean, and Lauren had made it quite homey.

"I wish I had a bigger and better place in all honesty, but there's only so much I can earn as a primary school teacher." said Lauren sheepishly.

"It's OK. I know you always wanted to teach younger kids, at least you're doing what you want to do." said Sirius.

"Yes, I wouldn't give it up for anything." said Lauren, smiling broadly.

"So... how's your dad?" Sirius asked. She'd been raised by her father - her mother died after childbirth.

"He... passed away two years ago." said Lauren, sadly.

"Oh... I'm sorry." said Sirius solemnly.

"It's alright. If there's one thing I learned from him, it's that life doesn't stop, no matter how bad the things that happen during it become. I sold the restaurant. It's actually doing quite well. I'm saving all of the money I inherited though. In case I ever start a family." Lauren explained, blushing slightly, due in no small part to the fact that the man standing before her, even after all these years, was still the man she'd have wanted to start that family with.

"Smart. So... I don't want to waste any more time. I really want to get to know you again. That is... if you want to." said Sirius.

"What? Of course I do!" Lauren exclaimed.

Sirius' eyes lit up.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Of course! The men I've met in London have been nice and all, but they just weren't... you." Lauren said, softly.

"You must've been devastated when word got out that I'd been convicted of murder." Sirius said, darkly.

"I won't lie to you. That series of events, from when James and Lily died to your conviction... it all took me to a dark place. But I have to say, I never truly believed them. I mean... of course I thought it was true, but the pieces of the puzzle the ministry had put together didn't fit within my mind." said Lauren.

"I should've known you'd think of it like that." said Sirius.

"So anyway, since you got freed, what have you been doing?" Lauren asked, pouring Sirius and herself glasses of water.

"Well I've been setting things up so I can restart my job at the aurors, but that hasn't really been at the forefront of my mind. I've reclaimed my title as Harry and John's guardian." said Sirius.

"So they're living with you? That's amazing!" said Lauren, happily.

"Yeah, and their cousin, a muggle-born witch is also living with me." said Sirius.

"Why's that?" Sirius asked.

"Her last name is Dursley. I think you can figure out the rest." Sirius said, disdainfully.

"Their own daughter though? That's awful!" Lauren replied. She had heard about and even met Vernon and Petunia Dursley, but couldn't imagine them, or anyone for that matter shunning their own daughter.

"I know. But she is basically Harry and John's sister in practice, so it didn't feel right to separate those three." said Sirius.

"You're the same as ever, aren't you?" Lauren asked.

"Not quite." Sirius said, looking down.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't-" Lauren started.

"It's alright, I know what you meant." said Sirius.

Lauren paused for a moment.

"So just you and three teenagers? Sounds like a recipe for disaster." Lauren commented, smirking at him.

Sirius laughed for a moment.

"No, Remus is with us." said Sirius.

"Wow... I really have a lot to catch up on." Lauren mused.

Sirius laughed ironically for a moment, thinking about all of the absolute madness that had gone on in the past year or two.

"You have no idea."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! So, I'd like to do a bit of housekeeping here.**

 **Firstly, I'm considering writing a story about Sirius' past with Lauren. Let me know if you'd be interested in that :)**

 **Secondly, From here on out, the Harry and John series will be split into two parts. One will be an Ron/Hermione endgame version, and another will be a John/Hermione version, just because I find the idea intriguing after one of my readers suggested it.**

 **They will be posted simultaneously, and don't worry, they won't be too drastically different in too many ways, which means the rate at which I upload them really shouldn't be adversely affected. I fully intend on making both versions fully believable, as neither will work quite like canon.**

 **The Ron/Hermione version will be titled "Harry and John Potter year (insert year) v1" and the John/Hermione version will have identical titles, with a "v2" in place of the "v1".**

 **Hope you all keep an open mind and check both out. If both versions don't interest you, that's fine as well of course, if you don't like the concept of something, just don't bother reading it, no one will force you!**

 **But I promise that both versions will be at as high a standard that my writing capabilities will allow. Stay tuned ladies and gentlemen, Harry and John will be back!**


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